Abstract Submission Components

Annual Conference submissions should be comprised of and address the following: 

  • Co-presenters: Please have all your co-presenter details ready to enter (first, last, email, title, organization). Co-presenters not added during step 1 will not receive communications nor be imported into the speaker portal appropriately.
  • Title: Titles should be concise and to the point. Your title should accurately reflect the content of your presentation. (80 character max)
  • Presentation Description: Create an engaging description that will attract attendees and be used for the selection and marketing purposes of your presentation/poster. Editing rights reserved by Association staff. (2000 character max)
  • Describe Learning Outcomes: Explain what the problem or issue is and the action you want your participants to take as a result of your presentation/workshop. (1500 character max)

Session Layout

For the Spring Call for Sessions, theater seating (rows of seats) is the default room layout. A screen, projector, wireless slide advancer, laptop, and single podium mic are provided at the front of the room. Rooms will be equipped with Wi-Fi rated for website browsing.

Proposal Evaluation and Notification

The American Public Gardens Association conferences are recognized for leading the field of public horticulture. We are looking for the best and most motivating, inspiring, and innovative educational content. Following these tips will help your proposal!

Developing a Strong Proposal

Conference attendees are diverse. Your audience potentially includes people who are employed in a wide variety of capacities at botanical gardens, arboreta, cemeteries, zoos and university campuses - as well as volunteers, students, and corporate members from a variety of industries.

The American Public Gardens Association is committed to creating an equitable, diverse, and inclusive culture where the contributions of all community members are valued, respected, and appreciated.

When planning your session, please keep in mind that member gardens vary in terms of size of budget, staff, location, and acreage. If applicable, please ensure that your presenters are representative of the membership and/or provide multiple perspectives on the topic so that all gardens can take advantage of the valuable information you are presenting.

How are proposals evaluated?

The Program Selection Committee awards top scores to abstracts meeting the following criteria:

  • Purpose: Topic, intent, and learning outcomes are focused, well presented, and thoughtfully articulated
  • Relevance: Topic and presenters (when applicable) represent a wide range of perspectives, regions, and garden size/budget/mission.
  • Impact: Topic is trending, important and timely, highly relevant to the intended audience, and has strong potential to catalyze the audience.

Notification

By end of March 2026, you will receive notification of the status of your proposal. The American Public Gardens Association will determine the specific days and timeslots for sessions. Your submitted proposal automatically confirms your availability for any session block during June 9-11, 2026, the dates of the Annual Conference. If you already have a known time conflict, please note it in your submission, as date and time accommodations cannot be guaranteed after session selection.

Be sure to add us to your contacts to make sure you hear from us!

In order to receive event-related communications from us, you need to add info@publicgardens.org to your contact list and work with your IT to ensure communications coming from the following IP addresses are allowed.

198.207.147.224/27

204.239.0.224/27

216.230.14.224/27

Presenters' Agreement:

By submitting a presentation proposal, you will need to agree to the following on behalf of all those listed in your presentation:

  1. All speakers must register for the conference (min. 1-day) or may choose to present and attend only their session. Registration discounts or waivers are not available for speakers. (Note that we invite applications in the Spring for financial assistance through our Garden Scholars program).
  2. Any expenses incurred to participate in this conference are the speakers’ responsibility and will not be reimbursed by the Association. This also applies to printed materials as Association Staff will not have the ability to print materials for attendees and speakers while onsite.
  3. No substantive changes in content or presenters are made without prior written approval from Association Staff or Program Selection Committee.
  4. Sessions will not be recorded or livestreamed, nor does the Association support the livestream or recording of speaker presentations for use during the session. All speakers must present in person.
  5. The Association will be notified immediately if an emergency would prevent this session from being presented at the Annual Conference. In the event an originally listed presenter is unable to attend, the session coordinator will provide a substitute presenter of equal expertise for approval by the Association. Cancellation of a session should be a last resort.
  6. I warrant and represent that this presentation is my own original work, factually accurate, conforms to IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility) principles, and contains nothing libelous or otherwise unlawful. I have the authority to present the content in my presentation or I have obtained all necessary permissions or licenses from any persons or organizations whose material is included or used in my presentation.
  7. During my presentation I will not engage in any type of promotional marketing or selling of any product or service whose material is included or used in my presentation.