Gwynedd Pointe Homeowners Association
18th Annual Garden Contest - 2022
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. If you are wondering what the judges look
for, see the criteria at http://gwyneddpointegardencontest.blogspot.com/2016/05/.
There are a dozen or more gardens that are beautiful every
year. In the spirit of encouraging newer gardeners, and because we only have
thirteen prizes, we can’t always provide the recognition they deserve. We all
know who they are – we see their handiwork – and hope they know we appreciate their
contributions to the attractiveness of our community. And remember to judge for
yourself as that is part of the fun! We won’t be upset if you disagree with our
choices.
Primarily, we considered the five Fs of great garden design:
form, foliage, flowers, fruits (bird food) and fragrance. We did our best to
identify plants, but it’s not always easy.
Grand Prize -
$100 Gift Certificate for the Rhoads Garden
1002 Kenwood –
We first noticed this well-tended garden a couple of years ago, and it gets
better each year. It is all of a piece, with all elements seemingly in the
right places, with sophistication, elegance, and even a peacefulness. We saw
lady’s mantle, Japanese ferns, coreopsis, gorgeous spiderworts, Cranesbill geraniums,
pansies, lobelia, hellebores, hostas, small Japanese maple, creeping blue
juniper, and astilbes along the walkway. Nice repetition of colors throughout. Touches
of yellow add nice, bright accents.
Second Place
– $75 Gift Certificate for the Rhoads Garden
3503 Carriage – A perennial favorite, excuse the pun, the gardener
here changes things up every year and is an expert with playing with the
sloping topography and plant height to produce a dramatic effect. We saw rose
campion, hibiscus, a tall sunflower which is already a focal point and not even
blooming yet, butterfly bush, lantana, creeping Jenny, ornamental fruits and
berries, Joe-pye weed, and an interesting-looking elephant-shaped watering can.
Third Place
- $50 Gift Certificate for the Rhoads Garden
6104 Rolling Hill – The sign identifies it as “Greg’s Garden,” and you may recognize the
name because we’ve honored it before. Similar to 1002 Kenwood, above, in that
there are visual reasons why plants are where they are planted, so to speak,
and this year it looks really good. From our perspective, the left side of the
walkway contains the perennials and the right side has the annuals. We saw
astible, black and blue salvia, heather, bee balm, coral bells, lantana,
pansies, geraniums, and sundrops. Our feathered friends surely enjoy the
birdbath.
Honorable Mentions (in order by address) - $15 Gift Certificate for the Rhoads Garden
401 Evergreen –
This garden is a couple of years old and is coming along nicely, with well-chosen
placements within a smaller space. We saw petunias, pentas, bee balm, rose, hydrangea,
coneflower, zinnia, and oxalis. There is also an attractive basket of begonias
and lantana.
903 Kenwood –
The whitish stone mulch makes for a neat, orderly display. Many who use stone
mulch place landscaping fabric or plastic under it and expect that maintenance
will not be needed. But the stones catch dust and leaves that soon decompose
and become soil, and weed seeds, and then the garden needs tending. This one is
well-cared for. The coneflowers, euonymus and salvia farinacea look great among
the stones.
Judges’ Note: There are many
fine gardens on Kenwood.
3404 Carriage – This smaller garden has a nice, neat border and a birdbath as focal
point. We saw liriope, penta, lantana, and petunias surrounding a Kousa
dogwood.
4100 Quaker –
There are some nice gardens in this row and this one sits back a bit. A
wonderful display of violas, impatiens, Stella D’Oro lilies, daylilies,
coneflower, balloon flower, perilla leaf (a Korean mint) and rhododendron.
4304 Congress
– This is a nice garden that has to deal with limited sunlight. We saw hosta,
white azalea, yellow lilies, gladiolas, coneflower and begonia.
5905 Constitution – An attractive garden inside scalloped edging. The St. Francis statue
provides focus. We saw boxwoods, liriope (we think), coral bells, abelia, a
white potted geranium, a sundial and an ornamental sphere.
6105 Rolling Hill – We’ve honored this garden quite a few times. It’s back because we’ve never
seen a display quite as thoughtful and attractive of what almost looks like a
plant painting in the middle of it all. It includes Scotch moss, celosia and
dianthus.
6501 Rolling Hill – A beautiful display of Shasta daisy, geraniums, vinca, azalea,
holly, and marigolds in pots. A couple of boulders provide a nice contrast.
6803 Colonial
– This whimsical garden certainly makes you stop and look, particularly the
metal lizards and other garden art pieces among the brightly-colored flowers,
all contained within a nice piled fieldstone border.
Judges’ Note: Rolling Hill
and Colonial are gardening paradises.
7103 Union –
Overall this garden has an interesting yellow tint, from the grasses and the
sea oats along the wall. We saw orange snapdragons, celosia, orange lily, hosta,
lemony lace elderberry (we think), a Japanese maple, and a baseball player
sculpture.
Judges’ Note: Union is a good
place to see nice gardens, some of which belong to board or committee members
who are ineligible for the contest.
Thank you to
Hal Morley of Continental Property Management, our HOA board, The Rhoads Garden
for its years of support, and the judges. For contest rules and lists of past
winners, go to http://www.gwyneddpointegardencontest.blogspot.com/. Happy gardening!
