Growing up in Canonsburg, Gilbert Dadowski was the family yard boy. When he grew up and bought his own home, he just kept on doing yard work. The self-taught gardener and retired businessman is one of the few who still do their own yard work in the fancy gated community in Moon where he lives.

	Lake Fong, Post-Gazette photos Gilbert Dadowski bought this statue for his front garden because it resembles his granddaughter. Click photo for larger image. Complete List: 2006 Great Garden Contest Winners

Not only does he do all his own grunt work, he designed and planted the landscape, too. He chose the trees and shrubs with the help of wife Connie and brought in lots of pachysandra from his old house to cover a steep hillside. Today, the landscape is a lush, tranquil spot.

Even though he loves working in the garden, Mr. Dadowski doesn't consider himself a "gardening fanatic," and he didn't even think about entering the Great Gardens Contest until his wife pointed out that his garden was "just as nice" as many that had been featured in the pages of the Post-Gazette.

So he entered and was named one of two runners-up in the small gardens category.

When you try to make an appointment to see Mr. Dadowski, you find it surprising he had the time to create a garden. He's a busy man. Golfing and tennis take up much of his time, as do his family and grandchildren. But get him at the house for a tour of the property and you can see that he's just as enthusiastic about his landscape as he is about his other pursuits.

The couple built the home 13 years ago, and Mr. Dadowski started working on the landscape immediately after they moved in. He never really had an overall vision.

Gilbert Dadowski's garden in Moon tied for runner-up in the small gardens category of the Great Gardens contest. Click photo for larger image.

"I just started," he says. "It's been evolving over the years. Initially it was a lot of grass, then I started taking out grass areas and putting in rocks, fountains, etc."

Clearly, he has a good eye for what works. His garden consists of lots of trees, shrubs and groundcovers, but not lots of flowers. He has statuary and a couple of gurgling fountains. The design is relaxing and pleasing in an understated "Zen" kind of way.

Which is interesting, because Mr. Dadowski isn't an understated kind of guy. Friendly and talkative, he recalls how he gave the buyer of his previous home a deal if he'd let him come and take pachysandra cuttings for his new garden. He wasn't kidding -- he hauled several trash bags of cuttings back to his new home.

The property covers about 1 1/2 acres, much of it woods behind the home. The original goal was, says Mr. Dadowski, to plant the areas around the house. He estimates that about 1/4 of an acre of property is actively gardened.

"I had planned to do the woods [in the back] with rhododendrons, but the deer ate them," he says with laugh. "So I lost that battle."

	An overview of part of Gilbert Dadowski's winning garden as viewed from a deck on the back of his Moon home. Dadowski hauled all the pea gravel and pavers down the steep hillside and placed them himself. Click photo for larger image.

These days, he keeps the large wooded area cleaned, trimmed and free of poison ivy and restricts his major efforts to the area immediately surrounding the house. However, the deer still venture up to nibble the hostas and rhodies. He points out a deer trail through the property and wonders why they can't just walk on the paths he's constructed throughout the landscape to make his work easier.

Stone steps flow down one side of the home, leading to a pea gravel path and fountain. He says he hauled every single bag of gravel down the hill himself. The stepping stones, which resemble a jigsaw, also were bought and moved into place by Mr. Dadowski.

On the other side of the home, he "steals" the view of his neighbors' water feature and blends it together with small statuary and another fountain, creating a private, shady grove.

The front of the property is full of conifers, trees and shrubs, blended together in a pleasing mix of textures.

His favorite tree is a weeping Alaskan cedar by the front door. He also has lots of rhododendrons, beech trees, redbuds and three varieties of magnolias that especially please him.

These days, upkeep on the property is pretty easy. He devotes several full days in the spring and fall to cleanup, and during the remainder of the year he gets by with a couple of hours a week, squeezed in between golf games.

While his wife doesn't assist him in the outdoor labor, she does give him input on plant choices.

"She's the one who generally picks out the types of trees and plants, and I figure out where it's going," he says.

"She likes odd, misshapen trees. She likes to adopt them, and for some reason when I plant them, they turn out pretty nice."

Nice enough to win a contest.