Gardens of Delight

2007 Contest Winners

Maryland, Maryland, how does your garden grow?

Quite well, it seems.

Several weeks ago, we set out to find the best gardens in the Baltimore area, asking readers to send us pictures and descriptions of their favorite yards.

We were overwhelmed by the response to our first garden contest, receiving nearly 180 entries, ranging from rambling estates to tiny flower beds.

We visited 24 gardens, and with input from horticulture experts from the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service, we selected our favorites.

BEST OVERALL

MARY TROTTA, PERRY HALL

THIS RETIRED ENGLISH TEACHER STARTed her backyard garden 28 years ago when she moved into her suburban home. The initial problem she faced was a steep hill with neighboring houses looming above. The builder had planted a row of pine trees to help screen the view, but Trotta realized it would be impossible to mow the grass on the bank. So she set about slowly creating a garden oasis.

"I don't know how it happened, but I was out here all the time," says Trotta, surveying her yard, which is accented with dogwoods, peonies, hardy begonias, astilbe, oak-leaf hydrangea and sweet woodruff.

Trotta says she got serious about gardening about 15 years ago as her children grew older and she had more time.

Over the years, she hired professionals to install a low stone wall beneath the bank, and a friend helped her change the brick patio from a rectangular shape to a circle. She then created a number of outdoor rooms in which to enjoy the views of her garden, including a small nook where she often eats breakfast.

With a neighbor who shares her gardening enthusiasm, she has created a seamless transition from one property to the next, and she takes advantage of the neighbor's pond, which murmurs over the tranquil scene.

She says she has tried to select plants for year-round interest and is now planting flowers for their fragrance, such as Oriental lilies.

FAVORITE PLANTS

Peonies "for wonderful fragrance." Among her peonies are some from her husband's great-grandmother.

BEST TIP

Having learned that digging flower beds is back-breaking work, Trotta is a firm believer in raised beds. When she creates a new bed, she covers the area with newspaper, then piles on the compost and mulch. In a few months, the bed is ready for planting.

BEST LARGE GARDEN

DONIE ELY,

GLEN ARM

DONIE ELY, A RETIRED DUNKIN' Donuts franchise owner, was another gardener challenged by a shady slope.

When she and her husband bought their 3-acre property, she was confronted with a wooded landscape beset by deer. She began her plantings even before their house was built, starting with a few azaleas.

In the 34 years that followed, she chose plants as they appealed to her.

"I'd see something I didn't have and I'd buy it and find someplace for it," says Ely, whose shady lot is now populated by maidenhair fern, hosta, woodland poppies, columbine, hardy orchids, trillium and toad lily that thrive beneath the canopy of tulip poplars.

A member of the Glen Arm Garden Club for 20 years, she easily rattles off the names of the plants that populate her mostly shady yard. She is constantly surveying the garden, striving for color throughout the seasons.

"I like the Monet colors, the pink, lavenders and blues," Ely says. "I like blues, and I buy every blue I can find."

FAVORITE PLANTS

Astilbe, bleeding heart, spiderwort.

BEST TIP

Spread plants by gathering up the seeds and sprinkling them where wanted. "I do what nature does," Ely says. "My garden is so full because I just sprinkle seed everywhere."

LARGE GARDEN RUNNER-UP

Barbara Holdridge, Owings Mills

BEST MEDIUM-SIZE GARDEN

JUDITH BENDER,

CEDARCROFT

WHEN JUDITH BENDER AND her husband, Neil Brafman, moved into their home in Cedarcroft 11 years ago, they found an overgrown garden populated by diseased boxwoods and climbing ivy, which she hated.

Taking advice from Laurence Belosevic, the landscaper who had helped the house's previous occupants, Bender completely re-envisioned the half-acre lawn. "He gave us permission to get rid of things," Bender says.

The couple ripped out the boxwoods and towering yew bushes that were hiding the front of the house, and Bender, a plant geneticist, learned to look beyond individual plants to imagine the artistry of a garden.

Her plans were helped by the sound structure of the previous garden, which dated from the 1950s and featured various focal points that could be appreciated from inside and outside the house. Bender incorporated edible plants, herbs and fruit trees into the yard and added plants that offered year-round interest, such as paperbark maple and hellebore.

In the shady corners of the front yard, she planted six kinds of hosta. In the more sunny areas, scarlet-colored monarda and climbing roses brought a splash of color.

But it is in the back where Bender's handiwork shines. Within the formal garden and its brick pathways she planted waves of hosta, hellebore, daylilies and eye-catching cardoons. A fish pond and gazebo beneath a large magnolia added interest to the landscape.