home + garden
Greengirls Helen Yarmoska, Nicole Hvidsten, Martha Buns, Connie Nelson, Kim Palmer and Mary Jane Smetanka are dishin' the dirt from the back-yard garden and beyond. Whether you're a greenthumb or greenhorn, they're eager to learn from your mishaps, mistakes - and most importantly, your sweet successes - all growing season long.
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As the deadline for entering the annual Beautiful Gardens contest is nearly here (extended to June 24 because of the cool spring, see details below), I'm reminded of just how much beauty is found in the most modest gardens, and how grateful I am for OPGs (Other People's Gardens).
Sometimes I think I get just as much if not more enjoyment out of other people's gardens than I do my own. Perhaps it's because I can appreciate a neighbor's blossoms without any guilty thought of a need to deadhead, weed, mulch or water. Maybe it's because I enjoy the variety of blooms that can be found glancing over fences during a walk, a glimpse into more orderly lives. Or it could be that I just don't spend as much time looking at my flowers as I do working around them.
At any rate, when I'm away from my yard I can just appreciate the beauty of a garden for its own sake, and say a mental thanks as I pass by a lovely stand of tulips, iris or peonies. Heck, I'm even grateful for other people's weeds, which make me feel as if I'm not the only gardener who can't surround it all, all of the time.
If you regularly enjoy a particularly fine garden, a great way to say thanks is to nominate it for the Beautiful Garden contest. (And that way, we can all enjoy a glimpse of it too, in winter, when we really need a spot of OPGs.)
Just sent a brief description of the garden and the gardener who tends it, along with a few photos -- they don't need to be of professional quality, just something to give a sense of what it looks like -- and they don't need to be taken this year. And yes, you can nominate yourself. E-mail nominations to: beautifulgardens@startribune.com. But hurry!
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Links
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