Roslindale’s Derifield Takes 1st Place in Mayor's Garden Contest

Boston announced the winners of the Mayor’s 2013 Garden Contest sponsored by Comcast and several Roslindale gardens received honors, including Dorothy Derifeld for first place in the Senior Garden category.

The first place winners in nine categories receive the “Golden Trowel” award from Mayor Menino and prize packages from the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, Comcast, Mahoney’s Garden Centers, Design New England Magazine, the Institute of Contemporary Art, and other partners at an awards ceremony Aug. 13 in the Public Garden. 

Launched 17 years ago as part of Menino’s citywide beautification initiative, the contest recognizes gardeners who have landscaped, planted flowers, trees, and shrubs, thus making Boston’s neighborhoods beautiful.

All finalists in this year’s Garden Contest will be entered into a drawing for a JetBlue Grand Prize of roundtrip flights for four to any of the airline’s nonstop destinations from Boston (terms, conditions, and blackout dates apply).

A team of judges viewed the finalists’ gardens over a two-day period, including members of the elite Boston Department Garden Contest Hall of Fame, AARP Massachusetts State Director Mike Festa, Boston Elderly Affairs Commissioner Emily Shea, Boston Parks and Recreation Department staff, and members of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

This year’s winners are:

Small Yard Garden

First Place - Lyle, Kara, and Lily Bradley, East Boston       

Second Place - Frank and Ann Garibaldi, Hyde Park

Third Place - Elizabeth Mullaney, Dorchester          

Medium Yard Garden

First Place - Alex Galan, Dorchester 

Second Place - David Connolly, East Boston

Third Place - William Ryan, Dorchester

Large Yard Garden

First Place (tie) - Marie Esposito, Roslindale; Myrna Balk, Jamaica Plain  

Second Place - Theresa Pope, Jamaica Plain  

Third Place - Sarah Salerno Thomas, Hyde Park       

Porch, Balcony, Deck or Window Box Garden

First Place - Kimberly Roberts, East Boston

Second Place - Debbie Lingos, Back Bay      

Third Place - Dale Malone and Mark Landin, Dorchester

Shade Garden

First Place - Robert Fettig, Jamaica Plain      

Second Place - Sheryl White, Roslindale       

Third Place - Melissa, Todd, and Joey Cartwright, Allston

Vegetable or Herb Garden

First Place - Joseph DeLuca, Hyde Park                   

Second Place - Doris Burford, Jamaica Plain 

Third Place - The Boston Home, Inc., Dorchester    

Senior Garden

First Place - Dorothy Derifield, Roslindale   

Second Place - Gerald Brown, Dorchester   

Third Place - Adele Rothman, Hyde Park     

Storefront, Business or Organization Garden

First Place - Allan Ramdial, D Coal Pot, Hyde Park 

Second Place - Jeffrey Conrad, Fisher College, Back Bay     

Third Place - Evening Garden Club of West Roxbury           

Community Garden

First Place - Marie Fukuda and Tim Horn, Fenway Garden Society

Second Place - John Marino and Tim Haynes, South End                

Third Place (tie) - Michael Reynolds, Berkeley Community Garden, South End; Susan Prainger, Granada Park Garden, Jamaica Plain