Jason Crawford won a first place prize for his midsize garden in the PHS Citywide Garden Contest, for the third year in a row, Friday, September 14, 2012, Philadelphia, Pa. (Maria Pouchnikova)
Victory has bloomed in the Northeast as 20 residents took honors in this year’s Philadelphia Horticultural Society’s annual Citywide Garden Contest.
One of those Northeast gardeners is a three-time first-place winner.
About 250 gardeners entered the contest, which began in the spring, according to Flossie Narducci, the horticultural society’s educational activities manager. The most popular category was flower gardening, she said. Some winners have vegetable gardens or combinations. Some winning plots are community efforts.
Contest winners were announced during a ceremony at the PHS Fall Garden Festival, on Saturday, on the parade grounds of the Navy Yard at the foot of Broad Street in South Philadelphia.
Winners get certificates from PHS, plants for their gardens and tickets to the 2013 Philadelphia International Flower Show.
Seven of the Northeast’s winning gardeners took first places in their categories:
Jason Crawford won for his a midsize flower garden on the 7800 block of Lorna Drive. He won first place awards in 2011 and 2010, too.
Crawford is proud of the day lilies he grew this year. The perennials have been in his garden for about four years, he said. He gave them plenty of water and organic fertilizer and used lots of compost.
The American Heritage Foundation won for a midsized community vegetable garden on its property at 2068 Red Lion Road.
Elena Alekseev was honored for her large combination garden on the 900 block of Lansing St.
Ivey Galitan won for a large flower on the 300 block of Friendship St. She won top honors in 2010, too.
Michael Tauscher won for his large flower garden on the 8200 block of Winthrop St. He won a third place last year.
Frederick Indictor won for his large vegetable garden on the 8800 block of Old Farm Road. He won a second place in 2010 and a third in 2009.
Rosa Miriello got a gold star for a midsize vegetable garden on the 4300 block of Disston St. Miriello is another veteran award-winner. She won a second place in 2011, a first in 2010 and third place in 2009.
There were five second-place winners in the Northeast:
The American Heritage Foundation, for its small community vegetable garden on the 400 block of Rhawn St.
Joan A. Smalarz, for her large combination garden on the 1000 block of Borbeck Ave. Smalarz won second place last year and a third place in 2010.
Cynthia Criniti, for the 7200 block of Oakley St. She got an honorable mention in 2010 and a third place in 2009.
Bernice and Jeanne Rothwarf of the 1200 block of Tyson, for their midsize flower garden. The Rothwarfs won an honorable mention in 2010 and a third place in 2009.
Stephen Dreher, for a small flower garden on the 310 block of Stanwood St.
Six local gardeners won third-place designation in the PHS contest:
Marianne T. Miller, for large combination garden on the 2000 block of Vista St. She took a third place in 2009 and an honorable mention in 2011.
Sid Dorfman, for a small combination garden on the 8500 block of Bridle Road. He took a second last year.
Maureen P. Breen, for her container garden on the 7400 block of Rockwell Ave.
Sherree Kopple, for her midsize flower garden on the 500 block of Larkspur St.
Thomas Taylor, for his small flower garden on the 7900 block of Leonard St.
John Wisniewski, for his small flower garden on the 3400 block of Holyoke Road. He took a third last year, too.
Gerri Ramulis won an honorable mention for a midsize flower garden on the 11000 block of Glenfield Road.
Volunteer judges evaluated the gardens. Judges looked for healthy plants and a variety. They wanted to see well-kept gardens in which spaces were put to good use.
Judges looked for imagination in gardening and awarded points for good horticultural practices such as compost or rain barrel use. ••
