A flourishing success: Victoria Monacelli, of the 2800 block of Nautilus Road in Normandy, won top honors in the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s annual garden contest. Her individual flower garden includes 37 varieties of zinnias, giant sunflowers and elephant ears that were two feet across. PHOTOS COURTESY OF Victoria Monacelli
Just one Northeast Philadelphia gardener won a blue ribbon in the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s annual garden contest.
Victoria Monacelli of the 2800 block of Nautilus Road in Normandy won a top honor for her individual flower garden. This was only the second year she entered the PHS contest. In 2013, she took a second place. If you passed by her home during the summer, you saw her giant sunflowers. Elsewhere in her garden, Monacelli grew 37 varieties of zinnias. Her elephant ears, now in their 11th year, were two feet across.
Monacelli had plenty of competition.
This year, PHS merged its Citywide Garden Contest and its suburban PHS Community Greening Awards into one Gardening and Greening Contest. That meant the more than 350 gardeners who entered the contest included growers who live as far away as Milford, Del., Cape May, N.J., or Brackney, Pa., which is near Pennsylvania’s border with New York.
In the past, Northeast residents routinely have won recognition for their gardens every year. About 80 percent of the Northeast gardeners who competed last year won some recognition.
The contestants this year included home gardeners with in-ground or container gardens, businesses that have beautified their properties and community gardens. Towns that have initiated programs like tree-plantings or storm water management plans also participated.
The contest had nine categories: flowers, vegetables, containers, children’s, rooftops, garden blocks and street planters, urban farms, public space plantings and environmental initiatives.
About 60 panels of volunteer judges concluded their work in August. Winners were to be announced Sept. 20, but the contest results were, instead, announced on Monday. Judges looked at design and total visual effect. They considered maintenance and horticultural practices, and the variety, color and suitability of plantings. Extra points were awarded for creativity and sustainable practices.
Anyone who didn’t enter the contest this year should go to www.phsonline.org/gardening/ggcontest for more information and consider getting into the 2015 competition. ••
PHS also honored 15 other Northeast residents for their “Gardens of Distinction.”
The gardeners and their ZIP codes are listed below:
For very small flower gardens:
• Tom DiNardo, 19114;
• Debbie McDevitt, 19111.
For small individual flower gardens:
• Catherine Canty, 19111;
• Una Coyle, 19124;
• Carole Niemic, 19136;
• Michael Tauscher, 19136;
• Ken Swain, 19136.
For large individual flower gardens:
• Pamela Goldenberg, 19111;
• Jendi and Sean Gramlich, 19154.
For container gardens:
• Maryjo Donahue, 19154;
• Barbara Kinney, 19111.
For individual vegetable gardens:
• Jason Newkumet, 19115;
• Diana Robertson, 19111;
• Sam Schepis, 19135.
For individual combination flower-vegetable gardens:
• Mickey Heston, 19136;
• Elaine Peden, 19124.
A flourishing success: Victoria Monacelli, of the 2800 block of Nautilus Road in Normandy, won top honors in the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s annual garden contest. Her individual flower garden includes 37 varieties of zinnias, giant sunflowers and elephant ears that were two feet across. PHOTOS COURTESY OF Victoria Monacelli
A flourishing success: Victoria Monacelli, of the 2800 block of Nautilus Road in Normandy, won top honors in the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s annual garden contest. Her individual flower garden includes 37 varieties of zinnias, giant sunflowers and elephant ears that were two feet across. PHOTOS COURTESY OF Victoria Monacelli
