Tips "Don't be intimidated by people who say you have to have a plan," says Marianna Russell. "You can move things and experiment. Nothing is going to turn out the way you think, anyway."
Large Garden Runner-Up: Tim Thompson
Greg Bathon, Federal Hill
Best Small Garden
Nine years ago, Greg Bathon was living in a Baltimore rowhouse and eager to get back to the soil. He had once owned a home in Westchester, N.Y., that included six acres surrounded by farm fields. "I really needed to get my fingers back in the dirt," he says.
A fourth-floor Federal Hill penthouse seems an unlikely place to return to the soil. But the former international businessman-turned-writer has done just that, creating an oasis of pines, wisteria, hosta and grape arbors. Sun-loving daisies and echinacea brighten one corner, an herb and lettuce garden grows near the kitchen. A small fountain babbles under one of the arbors.
When Bathon and his wife, Heidi, moved to a condo overlooking Federal Hill Park, the only plants on their balcony were the Mugo pines. While there were beautiful views of the waterfront, the deck "looked like a bowling alley," Bathon says.
Bathon started to think about what else he could do with the space. He first added an arbor for wisteria. Then a gate to give the illusion of different rooms. Each year he added more. Today, there are more than 200 containers, many perennials.
The key to the garden's success is an Israeli drip irrigation system that allows Bathon to regulate the water flow to the containers even when he is out of town. Although the system is sophisticated, it isn't expensive. Bathon estimates it cost less than $200. "It's like putting Tinkertoys together," he says.
Favorite Plants Mugo pines. "They work so beautifully out there." Also, hosta. "We have six different species, and they are really good for shade."
Tips "Not everything in this climate works four or six stories in the air. Things change up there because of the winds. You have to find something that works and then run with it."
Small Garden Runner Up: Jim Camp and John Thompson
Howard Fong, Hampton
Best Edible Garden
When Howard Fong decided to create a vegetable garden behind his home in Hampton in the early 1990s, he not only wanted tasty produce, he wanted an attractive landscape as well.
So, between neat rows of tomatoes and herbs, he planted flowers and shrubs. He built espaliers for fruit trees and rosemary and trellises for cucumbers.
