How do your gardens grow? Extremely well, judging from the overwhelming response to this year's Home+Garden Beautiful Gardens contest. We received nearly 200 entries, a record number for the contest since it started in 1997.
Frankly, we were blown away, not just by the sheer volume of gardens submitted but also the beauty they represented. We saw award-worthy gardens in every style and on every scale. In the end, our team of six judges narrowed the field to the following six winners:
Richard and Shirley Friberg have been gardening together in Roseville since 1963. Their many-splendored landscape now includes gardens dedicated to alpine plants, lilies, peonies, cacti, wildflowers, veggies, hostas, conifers and bog plants.
Plant collector Dianne Latham and her husband, Dan, have created a parklike setting in Edina, featuring a diverse landscape that blends tropicals with Minnesota native plants, and uses herbs and veggies as companion plants.
Glenn Ray, founder of Masterpiece Landscaping, has influenced many local gardeners, including several previous Beautiful Gardens winners. His own Minnetonka landscape is a "masterpiece of color, texture, form, aroma and imagination," according to its nominator.
Compact urban gardens can have just as much impact as larger-scale landscapes. The proof is in Randy Ferguson's Minneapolis garden, which includes a 4,000-gallon pond with a cascading stream and more than 100 fish, patios, pergolas and a vintage garden shed.
Blooms and birds abound at Curtis and Diane Dutcher's home in Brooklyn Park. Their cottage-style garden, which backs onto a wooded wetland area, features flowers from spring to early fall, with feeders, fountains and birdbaths to help attract feathered visitors.
Chris Trevis' garden in Lake Elmo has been dubbed "Arboretum East" -- and with good reason. With help from her husband, Jim, she's transformed their 1 1/2-acre lot into a series of gardens that provide a sanctuary for them, as well as for a menagerie of wildlife.
