Get fresh air, exercise in local contest
Get benefits of fresh air and exercise while competing in local contest for best garden
Mass gatherings and events may be cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic but gardening in nature is very much allowed.
Gardening is an activity that can easily be done while practicing social distancing from home. Spring has sprung which means it’s time to put the planting season in gear. Gardening is a pastime shown to have physical, mental and social health benefits. Families can spend time together outdoors creating a home garden and individuals can take the opportunity to find moments of peace and calmness.
“I just feel better when I’m outside,” said Linda Steffey, 71, of Boyertown.
Steffey is a retired schoolteacher who has lived in Boyertown for most of her life. She’s been gardening since she was a teen. Steffey is now a committee member for a home garden contest open to Pottstown and Boyertown residents.
Homeowners and renters who reside within the Boroughs of Pottstown and Boyertown can enter the 8th annual Home Garden Contest for a chance to win cash money. There are five categories and 20 prizes with the top award being $150. Second and Third place winners of each category also receive cash prizes. The two municipalities have separate judging, but all contestants will be invited to a joint awards ceremony in September.
Registration for the contest officially opened this month. The categories are young gardener, general garden, vegetable garden, outdoor oasis and pleasant porch. There is no fee to enter and the deadline to register is June 26. Residents can fill out an electronic form on the website at HomeGardenContest.com. Printed registration forms are also available. For more information, Pottstown residents can contact Daniel Price at danielpprice@hotmail.com and Boyertown residents can contact Gretchen Lea at glea316@ comcast.net.
Steffey won the general garden category of a past Home Garden Contest. She said her love of gardening began by visiting her grandparents’ home as a child.
“When we were little kids, we spent practically all our time at that house,” she said. “I used to help grandfather in his vegetable garden.”
Steffey said she remembers all the variety of produce her grandfather used to grow such as corn, strawberries and asparagus. After her grandfather passed, Steffey continued the tradition of gardening by planting produce for her grandmother.
Steffey said her advice to new gardeners is to “learn your area.” She explained that it’s important to identify where your garden will be located so you know how much sunlight that area gets. She said this will help determine what kind of plants should be used.
Daniel Price, the Mosaic community garden manager of Pottstown, said contest participants have become more skilled because they’re able to learn from seasoned gardeners in their community.
In its eighth year, the annual contest has continued to grow. Committee members are introducing two new categories to the public this year. This is the first time participants will have the opportunity to enter the outdoor oasis or pleasant porch categories.
“Outdoor oasis is for people that, while they have plants in a garden, they also have more of just a peaceful escape,” Price said.
He said the oasis garden might include a pond, other water elements or a well-landscaped patio.
“It can be anything that represents a peaceful retreat from your day to day life,” he said.
Price said the pleasant porch category is why the home garden contest was started several years ago. The contest began in Pottstown before it was expanded into Boyertown.
“The mission really is to make the most of your limited space. In a lot of cases, porches are your best and only place that people can do that,” he said.
This year’s contest also includes some new twists on previously held garden events.
Home garden committee members are once again organizing a Summer Solstice Party which is planned for June 20. Price says the solstice usually falls on the 21st but after research, it was determined the longest period of sunlight will be the evening of the 20th.
Price said the event is held at a new location every year and this year it will be at Kneehigh Farm in South Coventry. Mosaic has worked with the farm in the past through a “Know Your Food, Know Your Farmer” workshop and a community-supported agriculture program.
Committee members are planning another self-guided garden tour on July 18 which will showcase some of the past winners of the home garden contest. For the first time, the tour will include a People’s Choice judging. People who take the tour will have the option to vote toward their favorite one. Price said the hope is that a People’s Choice Award will make the tour more interactive.
Although the contest is currently only available for Pottstown and Boyertown residents, members of other communities can participate by voting during the garden tour or becoming a judge for this year’s contestants.
“We could always use judges,” Price said. “The benefit of being a judge is that you almost get your own tour.”
Judging is planned to take place from July 10 through July 20. All judges will get an invite to the awards ceremony taking place on Sept. 13.
The Home Garden Contest is made possible through a collaboration between the Mosaic Community Land Trust and Building a Better Boyertown as well as the main sponsor, the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation.
Representatives of each make up the contest committee which organizes the annual growing event. For more information about the contest, visit HomeGardenContest.com.