2018 WINNERS

Gwynedd Pointe Homeowners Association

14^th Annual Garden Contest - 2018 Winners

Co-Sponsored by the Gwynedd Pointe Homeowners Association

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The Rhoads Garden, 570 DeKalb Pike, North Wales

We say it every year – it gets harder and harder to judge the wonderful gardens in Gwynedd Pointe because there are so many great ones. Congratulations to the winners, and to all of those who did not win, yet contribute to making our neighborhood so beautiful! There were contenders on every court and drive, but there could only be thirteen winners.

Judges’ note: This year, we tried to concentrate on the five Fs of great garden design, in order- form, foliage, flowers, fruits (bird food) and fragrance, and in particular, the first three Fs.

Grand Prize - $100 Gift Certificate for the Rhoads Garden

205 Signal Hill – A tour de force. Gorgeous. Second place last year, the gardener improved it even more. The front garden is nice, with its topiary and hanging basket. But the back! (Contest rules say to be eligible a garden must be visible to passers-by; see it from the Knapp Rd. sidewalk and common area.) “Painterly” would not be an exaggeration. Form, foliage and flowers! Ornamentally, we saw coleus, yarrow, and lantern plant, working harmoniously with vegetables (permitted in rear gardens in Gwynedd Pointe) looking as nice as flowers: peppers, cukes, squash, tomato, perilla (Korean mint), and green onion with chives and lettuce waving in the breeze. Bee balm and scented geraniums (fragrance), and blackberry (fruit) in a bonsai display. And to top it off, can you tell that the planter overflowing with flowers is an old, repurposed, barbecue grill?

Second Place - $75 Gift Certificate for the Rhoads Garden

7304 Union – A new garden, with two frogs standing as sentinels. Colors are the key here, with diversity of form and flowers, both annuals and perennials. We saw May Night, cosmos, geraniums salvia, hydrangea and yarrow. Along the walk, purple deadnettle. Excellently maintained. (And at night, the frogs light up.)

  

Third Place - $50 Gift Certificate for the Rhoads Garden

6503 Rolling Hill – Another new garden! Nicely laid out, with two trellises of clematis, evergreens, boxwoods, begonias, mandevilla vines, a carefully placed rock, a wonderful shape and a river birch. Everything in the right spot, it all works!

Honorable Mentions (in order by address) - $15 Gift Certificate for the Rhoads Garden

103 Signal Hill – One might walk right by this garden. But a discerning eye will be gratified. A handsome presentation of a variety of shrubs. Boxwoods nicely formed, conifers, azaleas, mugo pine, all perfectly placed, and a butterfly chime.

400 Evergreen – This gardener is constantly rearranging. In fact, the garden was completely torn down and rebuilt in mid-June! Now, it has a nice amoeba shape, with speedwell, lariope, sedum, a Japanese maple, geraniums, evergreens and shrubs. Keep an eye on this one!

405 Evergreen – This garden is redesigned every year! Scale is always wonderful. The red gazing ball has moved to the side to play off the red rose. We saw calla lilies, sedum, Japanese maple, hostas, woodies with shrubs, and a butterfly-shaped bench.

1403 Liberty – New garden, great start! We saw black eyed Susan, lilies, peonies, petunias, and a varied-height wood post border. Another one to watch.

3400 Carriage – Wow! Forms & textures. Every leaf a different shape and texture. Color from annuals, and perennials, too. Tree branching out and shrubs bookending the window complement the height of the house. We saw hosta, celosia, and yew. Whimsical use of costume jewelry to represent water flowing from a watering can.

3401 Carriage – Another wow! Two adjacent, beautiful gardens, but they’re different. This one pops with burgundy and pink. Ground cover, yellow, is nicest in development, tying in with the yellow daisies in hanging planter. Mandevilla, sedum, and hostas. Attractive block wall.

4307 Congress – Newer garden, the purple sage, about to bloom, draws you closer. Golden yellows and whites make you linger. We saw coreopsis, lavender, verbena, creeping Jenny, black eyed Susan, and celosia.

6105 Rolling Hill – A perennial favorite, no pun intended. Great example of succession planting, i.e., designed so that something is always coming into bloom. Wonderful use of herbaceous plants and annuals. Too many plants to name. We think we even saw Culver’s root. If you see the gardener, ask if he’ll share his tip on how he adds exotic plants to his garden.

6600 Colonial – Beautiful display of perennials, and large scale conifers with Shasta daisies matching them in height, this garden is perfectly formed. We saw spirea, daylilies, and a wonderful balloon flower. Grey stone accents tie it all together, and the edge is perfectly sharp, as an edge should be.

7102 Union – The little sign says Nana and Grandpop’s House. Grandkids are lucky to see this beautiful mix of colors and leaf structures. We saw amsonia, astilbe, choral bells, and red twig dogwood. Sundial is nice focal point.

Judges’ Note: There are several gardens among the Honorable Mentions that arguably should be in the Top 3, and no doubt gardens not on the list that perhaps should be. Please judge for yourself, as that is part of the fun!

Special thanks to Hal Morley of Continental Property Management, The Rhoads Garden for its years of support, and to all the great gardeners that help to make Gwynedd Pointe so attractive!

Judges’ Disclaimer: We did our best to correctly identify plants, but it’s not always easy.

Go to http://www.gwyneddpointegardencontest.blogspot.com/ for contest rules, information on judging and lists of past winners.