Great Garden Contest Winners: 2005

The following are winners of the 2005 Great Gardens contest, sponsored by the Post-Gazette and the Horticulture Society of Western Pennsylvania. Over the next couple of weeks, additional winners will be listed.


	Tony Tye, Post-Gazette A bumblebee probes among the open and unopened buds of pink sedum in the Fuchs' garden. Click photo for larger image.

Winner/Urban Category: Jack Needham, Brighton Heights

Jack Needham bought a house, inherited a garden and in seven short years managed to become a gardener to be reckoned with. His small urban space in Brighton Heights -- jammed full with interesting plants, glowing color and cheeky personality -- won first place in this year's Great Gardens Contest, urban category.

(Go to article: An inspiring plot )


	Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette A bumblebee probes among the open and unopened buds of pink sedum in the Fuchs' garden. Click photo for larger image.

Co-Winner/Country Category: Sharyn and Richard Fuchs, Upper St. Clair

When Sharyn and Richard Fuchs put an in-ground pool in their Upper St. Clair back yard nine years ago, they had plenty of dirt and water. What they didn't have was lots of gardening experience. Nine years later, their energy and effort has created a country space that ranked as a co-winner in the category for this year's competition.

(Go to article: Carpenter unwinds by working with flowers and foliage)


	Annie O'Neill, Post-Gazette Russell Colton in his West Deer garden with his wife, Michelle. To create visual contrast, he trims some shrubs and leaves others unpruned. Click photo for larger image.

Co-Winner/Country Category: Russell Colton, West Deer

After a few changes, hard work and some persistence, Russell Colton's garden went from a finalist in last year's contest to a co-winner in the 2005 Great Garden Contest, Country category.
Colton's tools are simple: donated plants, found art, hard work and lots of inborn horticultural talent and vision. And with this vision has come a landscape of foliage and blooms of which he is rightly proud.

(Go to article: Carpenter unwinds by working with flowers and foliage)


	Pam Panchak, Post-Gazette Jody Nobel Choder and gardening pal Digger relax in their pool house. Click photo for larger image.

Honorable Mention Urban Category: Jody Noble Choder and Steve Choder, Pittsburgh.

They didn't plan on moving but fell in love with one of two identical homes built for the lockmasters at the Highland Park Dam. What they didn't love was what was hiding behind the privacy fence; a garden of tall grass and some mature trees.
After years of work and creative designing by the couple, the garden has evolved into a lush hideaway that won an honorable mention in the Urban category of the Great Gardens Contest.

(Go to article: Landscape grows from spartan to splendid )


	Alyssa Cwanger, Post-Gazette Georgene Albrecht, left, displays one of her rare plants in her indoor light garden. Click photo for larger image.

Honorable Mention Urban Category: Georgene Albrecht, Oakdale.

A mature garden whose plant variety and mix of colors and texture Georgene Albrecht earned herself an honorable mention, Urban category, in the third annual Great Gardens Contest.
From correspondence courses to joining garden societies, competing in shows and winning a wall full of awards, Albrecht has been a student and a teacher who sees nature as the best gardener.

(Go to article: Landscape grows from spartan to splendid )