Arlington’s Rock Spring Garden Club kicked off its mid-September fall meeting with the announcement of the winner of its countywide annual Garden of the Year Award.

The 2011 award went to three winners in
this second annual competition. The high quality of the 49 gardens judged by six judges in two teams made it difficult to select only a single winner. So
this year’s award was shared by three homeowners: by Susan Burrows and Marc
Tohir and by Kevin Ceckowski and Robert Christie for Best Homeowner Designed,
Homeowner Maintained Garden, and by Diane and Howard Melton for Best
Professionally Designed, Homeowner Maintained Garden.  The
gardens were judged on site by a set of criteria that included first
impression, functional aspect of design, aesthetic aspect of design including
originality and distinction, implementation of structures and plant materials,
maintenance, and final impression. The judges are members of the Capital Area’s
Landscape Design Council and are part of the National Capital Area Garden
Clubs.  “This countywide competition is a great way for our club to promote gardening, county beautification, and membership,” says Sallie McHugh, who chaired the competition this year,  and was pleased the entries were from all parts of Arlington County.  The 58-year old Rock Spring Garden Club is the oldest garden club in Arlington, Virginia.  It has an active community outreach program.

Next year’s Garden of the Year Award competition will start earlier, in March 2012, running through May 31, 2012. The announcement of the winner will take place at the Club’s year-end June meeting.  To contact our Club for further information, please use the ‘contact’ button above.  CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE WINNERS, AND A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL OUR NOMINEES. ARLINGTON, VA IS A BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITY, THANKS TO GARDENERS LIKE YOU!

(photo left to right: Sallie McHugh, Thea McGinnis, Diane Melton,  Robert Christie, Susan Burrows, Kevin Ceckowski)