By the Alexandria Beautification Commission
Alexandria, VA – There’s a growing movement in Alexandria – one that gains momentum each year – sustainable beautification! The Alexandria Beautification Commission recognizes exceptional properties across the city that reflect both visual appeal and a commitment to environmentally sustainable practices. This year, we had the difficult task of selecting beautification award winners from more than 50 wonderful nominees — many featuring native plants and thoughtful practices that our Commission deeply values. The 2025 beautification award winners are listed below.
2025 Residential Beautification Award Winners
Many of this year’s winners are using their yards and buildings to educate their neighbors about the benefits of native plants, pollinators, and energy efficiency. Several residents swapped lawns for carefully selected natives and artistic accents. With or without large yards, these residents have nurtured their plants without pesticides, proving that impact isn’t limited by size.
Among the eight residential winners are certified wildlife habitats and gardens bursting with native blooms like serviceberry, buttonbush, coreopsis, milkweed, coneflowers, and phlox.
- 18 South Hudson Street
- 34 South Ingram Street
- 1310 North Chambliss Street
- 523 North Paxton Street
- 217 East Custis Avenue
- 2621 East Randolph Avenue
- 921 Duke Street
- 634 North Payne Street
New This Year: Residential Street Awards
To encourage neighborhood-wide impact, we introduced a new award category this year to recognize residential streets where multiple households have embraced sustainable landscaping. These blocks demonstrate how neighbors working together can create beautiful, environmentally friendly streetscapes that inspire others to do the same.
- East Alexandria Avenue – 409/411
- East Nelson Avenue – 519/521/545/547/551/555
- Park Road – 205/212/301/303/311
2025 Community Beautification Award Winners
This year’s community winners showcase a wide variety of sustainability initiatives – from LEED Silver-certified buildings and rain gardens to native trees that cool heat islands in parking lots. The eight sites below reflect thoughtful planning, stewardship, and creativity.
Public art also continues to enhance Alexandria’s beauty and character. Among this year’s winning murals are portraits with quotes from social justice leaders that inspire passersby and a loading dock door now adorned with vibrant dogwood blossoms, the state flower of Virginia.
- AlexRenew
- Auburn Village Condominium
- Chinquapin Community Garden
- The Patrick Henry Elementary School & Recreation Center
- Linder Academy Murals
- The Garden Del Ray
- Torpedo Factory Art Center Loading Door Mural
- Virginia Tech Institute for Advanced Computing
Honorable Mentions: Going Beyond the Categories
Some outstanding efforts don’t quite fit our award criteria but deserve special recognition:
- Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail: Since 2020, this group has hosted 18 volunteer events to restore and beautify the area in Alexandria formerly known as “Kudzu Hill,” engaging 567 volunteers who have contributed over 1,228 hours of service.
- Northern Alexandria Native Plant Sale: This beloved local sale is a permanent community fixture, offering native alternatives to invasive species and educating the public about watershed-friendly gardening.
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