2009 Most Beautiful Flower Garden Contest Winners

All photos courtesy Vicki Kauffman, except where otherwise noted. TheMount Vernon News' Most Beautiful Flower Garden contest, co-sponsored by the Owl Creek Conservancy, once again provided several enjoyable afternoons of judging for Samantha Scoles and Marsha Wagner of the News and Vicki Kauffman, consultant for the Conservancy. We would like to thank everyone who shared their gardens with us this year and encourage anyone who enjoys their outdoor spaces to invite us to visit during next years' contest. Details will be available next spring in the News. Enjoy the second-hand tour!

First Place Janet Courson, Mount Vernon

A blubird planted with hens and chicks welcomed us just outside the gate of this condominium's tiny garden.

Everywhere we looked in this small space, there were sweet surprises, such as this diminutive birdhouse tucked back into the branches of an evergreen...

...and these live blossoms picked fresh in the morning and set afloat in the water feature.

Ms. Courson knows the micoclimates in her back yard well, coaxing sun-loving roses to bloom beside shade-tolerant impatiens.

Ms. Courson fits a respectable array of plants and flowers into a limited area. Photo courtesy Samantha Scoles, Mount Vernon News

A rustic bench sports a bird house and a pot of violas.

Second Place Judy Golas, Mount Vernon

Mrs. Golas keeps her fish pond in meticulous condition, using the old, nutrient-rich water to irrigate plants in dry weather.

The shady back yard is meant to be enjoyed from the swing perched on a reclaimed brick patio. We would never have guessed the area was only recently established.

Purple coneflowers are a favorite of judges and butterflies alike.

This comfortably wide path led us from shade to sun to shade again.

Third Place Becky Walpole, Centerburg

Scoles and Wagner talk with Mrs. Walpole while this judge enjoyed the delightful back yard patio. I didn't want to leave!

Furniture carved with a chainsaw dresses up an outbuilding and provides tons of character and charm.

Mrs. Walpole chose to plant flowers in a cool color palette of mostly pinks, purple and white, which compliments her house and provids cohesion.

Found objects are always at home in a garden, and here Mrs. Walpole mixes her treasures with beautiful flowers in her chosen color scheme.

Honorable Mention Marla Dague, Mount Vernon

Mrs. Dague's patio is full of beautiful growing things, but this window box really caught our attention.

The chairs invite visitors to sit and enjoy, but only if you can share with yet another container of happily blooming flowers.

Mrs. Dague was proud of the bargain she scored with this matching set of glazed pots, but the real focus is on what she put in them.

... And Finally... Brenda Humphrey, Mount Vernon

While Ms. Humphrey didn't place this year, she did give us a big laugh with her statue of Sasquatch skulking behind an ornamental grass.