How to Impress the Judges:
What 2010 entrants can learn from last year’s Garden Competition winners

Greg Polkosnik
Garden Competition Chair

This year will mark the tenth year I’ve been involved in the EHS Garden Competition, either as a judge, an entrant or as the competition’s chairman. I’ve learned a lot by getting out and seeing the gardens, including how to impress the judges. So to help this year’s aspiring winners, I’ve compiled a list of what I consider to be the elements that separate the winners from the rest of the pack.

Note: click on the photo to see a full size photo.

Good Design: Not everyone can start from scratch, but if you have that option, use it for all it’s worth. Grand Challenge winners Donna Bagdan and Brian Heidecker knew exactly what they were doing when they designed their corner lot to have maximum curb appeal. On a busier street, this garden would stop traffic.

A Sense of Adventure: Lee Anna Rochio was named the EHS 2009 Gardener of the Year, not only because she grows everything but also because she grows everything well. Annuals, perennials, bulbs, vegetables, trees, shrubs, etc: all have a place in her impressive garden.

Unexpected Combinations of Plants: I gasped when I first laid eyes on Andrey Iwasko’s double-decker honeysuckle vine. One-half ‘Dropmore Scarlet’ and one-half ‘Mandarin’, it was the most clever use of a plant I saw in the nearly thirty gardens I visited.

A Sense of Humour: Again, Andrey Iwasko impressed me with the funniest decorative accessory I’ve seen in years. He pruned an old Nanking cherry tree into a giant bird nest. Figuring he needed birds in the nest, he decided to use turkeys. Turkeys!

Good Taste: Older Home Garden winner Maria Anna Glanz has a serene, beautiful yard that judges never want to leave. From the plants in her pots to the way the patio furniture is laid out, she doesn’t miss a trick, reminding us all that there’s more to winning this contest than growing nice flowers.

Colour: Joyce and Gordon Fuerst brightened-up their shady side garden with blue and orange annuals that could have been seen from outer space. After visiting so many “quiet” shade gardens, this one stuck out for all the right reasons.

Healthy Plants: Who knows what multiple-winner Edward Krowski feeds his plants? Whatever he’s doing, he’s doing it right because there probably isn’t a yard in the Edmonton area with healthier annuals.

 

No matter what category you enter, always remember that this is a horticultural contest with picky judges. Being picky is their job!

I look forward to seeing what lessons can be learned from this year’s entrants. Good luck to everyone.