Gwynedd Pointe Homeowners Association
15th Annual Garden Contest - 2019
Winners
Co-Sponsored by the Gwynedd Pointe Homeowners
Association
&
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! This
year we again 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.
Judges’ Disclaimers: We did our best to identify plants, but it’s not always easy. There
were contenders on every court and drive, but there could only be thirteen
winners. Please judge for yourself, as that is part of the fun!
Grand Prize
- $100 Gift Certificate for the Rhoads Garden
5402 Plantation – Gorgeous! The rear garden is perhaps the lushest in the history of
our contest. (Contest rules say a garden must be visible to passers-by; see it
from the Bell Run sidewalk and common area.) A kaleidoscope of colors that
splash, swell and swirl. Too many plants to identify; see it for yourself! Most
importantly, it is an environmentally-friendly “pollinator garden.” It looks
like it was created with a spin-art machine, but upon closer inspection one can
tell it took a lot of planning and is a well-maintained “greenscape” in harmony
with nature.
Second Place
- $75 Gift Certificate for the Rhoads Garden
3401 Carriage –
Another gorgeous garden, yet a completely opposite design concept from the one
above. The theme of this garden changes every year, and presently it has a
concentric stone motif (hard to describe: go see it!) with an obelisk at its
center filled with stone and succulents. Judges have called it a “stone peace
circle” and a “zen garden.” Our research finds that stone gardens have existed
for millennia and have been believed to have healing and stress relieving
properties. We’re not aware of the gardener’s intent here, but it sure is a
cool design! We saw coleus, torenia, hosta, salvia, gaura, dianthus, blue-eyed
grass, day lilies, New Guinea impatiens, an edge accented with chartreuse
creeping Jenny, and three hanging baskets disguising the meter box, holding
torenia, lantana and impatiens.
Judges’ Note: There
are several wonderful gardens on Carriage, so check them out!
Third Place
- $50 Gift Certificate for the Rhoads Garden
4102 Quaker –
This gardener shows how a postage-stamp sized garden can be made to appear much
bigger. The irises have finished blooming, but the petunias, pansies, and
hibiscus are in full bloom and look wonderful. The canna lilies in pots should
be blooming soon, but even now, their leaves are dramatically beautiful. The
secret to the larger visual appearance is using planter boxes to extend the
garden, even by the garage doors, harmonized through their shape with the box-like
light fixtures.
Honorable Mentions
(in order by address) - $15 Gift Certificate for the Rhoads Garden
400 Evergreen
– Garden redesigned from last year into a wonderfully shaped Japanese style, great
form and texture, with two types of maples complementing each other. Beautiful
sedum, spike speedwell and geranium Rozeanne. Very clever how the white rock
imitates water flowing from a barrel and splashing at the garden’s edge.
1003 Kenwood – A
beautifully maintained, “painterly” garden where repetition works very well,
with plantings of threes and fives. We saw salvia, coreopsis, and variegated
lilyturf.
1404 Liberty –
A newer garden with a nice shape and a well-placed boulder and an evergreen tree as focal points. We
saw hostas, salvia, hens & chicks, sedum, lavender, and rosemary in a coal
bucket.
2900 Harvard
– A new, raised garden, all about shapes and textures. Red bud and variegated
leaf twig dogwood, lace cap hydrangea, lilac, lavender, vinca, celosia, lilies,
a wall with a nice slate cap, and we liked seeing the toy trucks and planes, as
it doubles as a play area.
3004 Harvard
– Perhaps our nicest sloped garden. Wonderful array of annuals, a rock garden,
a dwarf Japanese maple, and a couple of wind toys make nice accents.
4507 Congress
– The wonderful Nerium oleander in the corner caught our eye! We hear it
winters indoors. We also saw elephant ears, marigolds, ornamental plants, hosta
and mandevilla. Another example of a postage-stamp sized yard planted
wonderfully!
6104 Rolling Hill – “Greg’s Garden,” as the little sign says, is a wonderful woodland display
with sundrops, thunbergia on the trellis hiding the utility panel, zinnia,
impatiens, astilbe, and lantana in the “on its side” flower pot.
6300 Rolling Hill – A recently rebuilt garden, the reddish mulch ties in
well with the salvia and other red-tinged plants like the lilies, with great
form and texture. The chair makes a nice place to sit and enjoy the view.
6303 Rolling Hill – A well-ordered newer garden, with hosta, shasta daisies, day lilies,
creeping Jenny, and a nice holly tree.
7300 Union –
The garden is a pleasant, welcoming entrance to this home. Tasteful garden art and
the orange pot with orange dahlia is a pretty accent. Hosta lining the sidewalk
are full and healthy.
Judges’ Note:
There are many wonderful gardens throughout Fairbourne Village.
Special thanks
to Hal Morley of Continental Property Management, The Rhoads Garden for its years
of support, the judges, and to all the great gardeners who help to make Gwynedd
Pointe so attractive!
Go to http://www.gwyneddpointegardencontest.blogspot.com/
for contest rules, information on judging and lists of past winners.
