Wildflower magazine and editor Amy McCullough each received 2020 Media Awards, presented by GardenComm: Garden Communicators International.

This national award recognizes the highest levels of talent and professionalism in garden communications. The 2020 competition had more than 160 entries in 62 categories, with Gold Medal recipients representing the top winners in each category.

Amy McCullough, who came on board as Wildflower magazine’s editor in 2016, received a Gold Medal of Achievement in the writing category (for magazine articles with a circulation of less than 20,000). The award-winning piece is “Higher Ground,” her feature story on peyote (Lophophora williamsii), from Volume 36, No. 2 of Wildflower, which was published in the fall of 2019. The article deeply examines this complex and valuable native plant, telling its story from a variety of angles: cultural, geographic, conservational, religious, historical and artistic.

Wildflower magazine also won a Silver Medal of Achievement in the publishing category for magazines with a circulation of less than 20,000. This was awarded to the issue of the magazine — Volume 36, No. 2 — that the peyote feature appeared in; the issue can be read in its entirety here.

Other articles and topics from Volume 36, No. 2 include a compelling feature on the merits of sunflowers, a poignant journey to see a giant sequoia named General Sherman, a look at natural novelties such as pink bluebonnets, the value of native plants to cave crickets, and more.

The GardenComm Media Awards have recognized outstanding writing, photography, graphic design and other works focused on gardening since the early 1980s. “The Media Award winners have been judged by industry experts and show significant distinction and merits that exemplify exceptional work,” says Becky Heath, past president of GardenComm.

The awards were announced at GardenComm’s virtual conference in August 2020. View the full list of recipients here.