Mayor Martin J. Walsh has announced the winners of the Mayor’s 2016 Garden Contest presented with a Grand Prize from JetBlue and media support provided by the Boston Herald. Now in its 20th year, the contest recognizes gardeners who have landscaped, planted flowers, trees, and shrubs, and, in the process, helped beautify Boston’s neighborhoods.
First place winners will receive the coveted “Golden Trowel†award from Mayor Walsh and prize packages from the Parks Department, Mahoney’s Garden Centers, and other sponsors at an awards ceremony in August in the Public Garden. First place winners will also be entered into a drawing for a JetBlue Grand Prize consisting of roundtrip flights for two to any nonstop destination from Boston. Terms, conditions, and blackout dates apply.
A team of distinguished judges viewed the finalists’ gardens over a two-day period. Judges included members of the Garden Contest Hall of Fame, Boston Elderly Affairs Commissioner Emily Shea, Boston Parks and Recreation Department staff, and local open space advocates.
This year’s winners are:
Storefront, Organization, or Main Street District Garden
First Place: Loring-Greenough House, Jamaica Plain
Second Place: Halls of Tara, West Roxbury
Third Place: Sherrill House, Jamaica Plain
Community Garden
First Place: Marie Fukuda and Tim Horn, Fenway
Second Place: Tom Keller, Fenway
Third Place: Ronald H. Dion, Fenway
Vegetable or Herb Garden
First Place: Aspasia Bakolas, Roslindale
Second Place: Ken Sterritt and Travis Moore, Fenway
Third Place: Kun Xu, Atlantic Paradise Gardens, Dorchester
Porch, Balcony, or Container Garden
First Place: Ric Cirace, Back Bay
Second Place: Â Joseph P. Falinski, Dorchester
Third Place: Sheila Lyons, West Roxbury
Senior Garden
First Place: Diane Spears, Jamaica Plain
Second Place: Kathryn Willmore, South End
Third Place: Daphne Georges, Jamaica Plain
Shade Garden
First Place: Ngaio Schiff, Roslindale
Second Place: Dave Connolly, East Boston
Third Place: Amy Mullen, Dorchester
Small Yard Garden
First Place: Martin Grealish, West Roxbury
Second Place: Triet Nguyen, Back Bay
Third Place: Gil Duarte, Jamaica Plain
Medium Yard Garden
First Place: Jean Powers and Theo Keiber, Allston
Second Place: Nasim Parveen, West Roxbury
Third Place: Cheryl Wakeham, West Roxbury
Large Yard Garden
First Place: Walter Janulewicz, Jamaica Plain
Second Place: Joanne McManus, Hyde Park
Third Place:Â The Family of Susan Sargent, in her memory, Jamaica Plain
Gardeners who have won three or more times are automatically entered into the Hall of Fame and will be recognized at the awards ceremony. These distinguished Hall-of-Famers will be ineligible to enter as contestants but are welcome to return as judges. The 2016 Hall of Fame Inductees are Hyde Parkers Frank and Ann Garibaldi along with Irene Walczak of the Fairmount Hill Garden Group, Kenneth Aubert of Roslindale, and Tim Haynes of the South End.