Great Garden Contest Winners: 2004

Here are the winners of the 2004 Great Gardens contest, sponsored by the Post-Gazette and the Horticulture Society of Western Pennsylvania.:

An Indiana Township couple won first place in the non-professional category:

	John Beale, Post-Gazette Fritz and Jim Mitnick with their helpers, Rose, left, and Maizy. Click photo for larger image.

First Place, Non-Professional: Fritz and Jim Mitnick, Indiana Twp.

Fritz and Jim Mitnick's garden is, in a word, magnificent.
There is nothing that it doesn't have -- lush flower beds, a pond, an orchard, beehives, vegetables, berries, chickens, doves and lots of woods. It's a pastoral nirvana on a secluded lot in Indiana Township that blew the judges away, winning first prize in the Great Gardens Contest.
Fritz, who grew up on a farm in the state of Indiana, tends the garden on a daily basis, tramping around in work clothes and muck boots, followed by her two garden "assistants," a collie named Rose and an English shepherd named Maizy.
(Go to article: Couple's extensive garden in Indiana Township wins PG contest )

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One pair of homeowners secured second place in the non-professional category, while a second couple won honorable mention for their garden with professional assistance:

	Martha Rial, Post-Gazette Max Levine and his wife, Hilary Spatz, have spent years creating a lush environment at their home. Click photo for larger image.

Second Place, Non-Professional: Max Levine and Hilary Spatz, Squirrel Hill

Call him the accidental gardener. Max Levine didn't set out to create beautifully layered gardens in the front and back of his Squirrel Hill home. But a couple of unrelated events prompted him to take more interest in his yard.
In 1991, a sewer line break destroyed the landscaping in front. Three years later, the arrival of Oscar, a black Shar-pei puppy, meant Levine had to finish fencing in his back yard. Down came the scrub trees that barely screened the yard from condominiums in back. Up went a few Colorado blue spruces that today help enclose the 35-foot-wide yard and separate the green oasis from its neighbors.
(Go to article: Squirrel Hill home sports colorful plants and shrubs in both front and back)

Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette In 1990, Kathy and Larry Shoop built a new home, and with it came plenty of landscape work. They started with a pond and haven't stopped since. Their three-acre property includes a small waterfall and bright red dahlias. Click photo for larger image.

Honorable Mention, Professional Help Category: Kathy and Larry Shoop, Moon

Larry Shoop wanted a goldfish pond. So when he and his wife, Kathy, built a home on a three-acre lot in Moon in 1990, that was one of the first features put into the landscape. After that, things kept rolling. The couple, with minimal help, created a garden that garnered them honorable mention in the professional category of the Great Gardens Contest.

(Go to article: Moon couple started with a pond and just kept adding on)

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Two homeowners tied for third place in the nonprofessional category:

	Bill Wade, Post-Gazette Kathy and Greg Short's backyard garden in Squirrel Hill. Click photo for larger image.

Third Place (Tie): Kathy and Greg Short, Squirrel Hill

Once you've seen Kathy and Greg Short's garden, you'll want to keep coming back. Especially if you're a toad. It's not that their garden is overly damp and dark. In fact, all-day sun in most areas has helped them grow beautiful trees, shrubs and perennials that overflow their narrow urban lot in Squirrel Hill. But the couple's ponds and mini-bog are apparently a love pad for toads. They come from all around the neighborhood to breed in the spring.
(Go to article: Family's plot in Squirrel Hill contains a bit of jungle)

Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Susan and Robert Clark in their Verona garden. Click photo for larger image.

Third Place (Tie): Susan and Robert Clark, Verona

When Susan Clark moved into her husband's home in Verona in 1996, there wasn't much to the landscape. The 100-by-150-foot hillside property was a blank canvas waiting to be filled. Although neither was an avid gardener, Robert did have an interest in building a pond. They constructed the pond, and more. These days, water covers two-thirds of the back yard. More than 80 goldfish dart among the irises, lilies and other water plants, shaded by lush plantings of flowers and splashed by two waterfalls.
(Go to article: Verona couple develop a work of art on hillside)