Green thumbs from Dorchester and Mattapan were once again among the big winners in the 29th annual Mayor’s Garden Contest. Molly Duggan of Mattapan took home the top prize in the contest’s “Large Yard Garden” category for the second year in a row while Blair Campbell, a Dorchester resident, once again snagged top honors in the small-yard category.
Both were on hand to receive their awards from Mayor Wu during a ceremony in the Public Garden last month.
Duggan, who describes her ornamental garden as an “oasis,” says the key to her success have been the trees and shrubs she has planted over the last six years. They include Japanese Maples, Oak Leaf Hydrangeas, Clematises, and Monardas.
“When I first thought about how I wanted to put it together, my main thing was wanting a feeling of privacy because we live in the city,” she said. “It’s never going to actually be private. Any of my neighbors can look out their second-floor window and see my backyard, so the important thing for me was to be able to walk out there and feel like I was in a little bubble.”
The plantings aren’t just for her enjoyment, Duggan said in an interview. “Mattapan has a heat island problem, as does a lot of the city. One thing that I have always noticed is that in the neighborhoods that do not have that problem, a lot of the trees are on private property. The city can plant street trees, and it’s wonderful that they do, but it feels like it’s not enough.”
She added, “Planting trees of my own and encouraging folks to keep their trees or plant new ones is pretty important to me.”
Other plants in her garden are important for more personal reasons.
“Some plants have special meaning, like the peony I planted the day my best friend died, or the lamb’s ear that my daughter stops and touches every time she goes by, or the sweet fern that reminds me of summer camp in the Blue Hills,” Duggan said.
While her garden is more than 500 square feet, she knows that smaller gardens can have just as big an impact.
“Adding a small amount of space that’s not grass where you have a few plants that you love provides habitat and makes the neighborhood a better place. I would just encourage anyone to do something, even if it’s small.”
Blair Campbell (pictured below) got that memo, too. He works in finance, and says that while gardening in his yard near Franklin Park can be a lot of work, it is a “relaxing” hobby. I consider it to be somewhat of an art as opposed to crunching numbers and implementing systems,” he said.
“It’s relatively small,” he said of his garden. “I have the stairs in the middle, and I have two sides to it. One side is smaller than the other. There is a design to it; it’s not just random. I have certain flowers going down the middle, certain flowers going down the side, and certain flowers that I know are going to spread.”
One of his favorites is Cuphea llavea, often called Bat-faced Cuphea.
“If you look at the flower, it looks like a bat; it’s a red and purple, and that’s probably my favorite because you don’t have to deadhead it. You just put it in, it spreads, and it blooms from spring all the way into the fall.”
His garden also includes different color Echinaceas as well as Tickseeds and Geraniums. “It’s highly appreciated in the community, in the neighborhood,” he said. “People do come by and see my yard. It brings something to the community and benefits the whole street and the community.”
Both of the winners plan to participate in the contest again next summer. If they once again notch first-place titles, they will be inducted into the Garden Contest Hall of Fame and be invited to join the contest’s panel of judges.
A few other Dorchester residents took home third-place titles, including Liza Dufresne, who took bows for her small-yard garden; Tome Bessette and Ike Colbert, who placed in the “medium yard” category; and The Boston Home (photo below), which earned a third for its “community garden.”
