WESTLAKE, Ohio – Westlake celebrated the beauty of the outdoors during a banquet last week at LaCentre as winners of Westlake in Bloom were recognized for their green-thumbed efforts. The friendly competition, now in its 11th year, encourages residents and businesses to help beautify the city by landscaping their properties and planting the Hilliard Boulevard flower boxes and Evergreen Cemetery fence gardens.
Terence Poje of Strauss Drive, took first place in the Residential Entire Yard Landscaping and Medium-Sized Lot category; as well as the Lu Walter “Best in Bloom” award.
Eighty-five entrants in 21 categories competed for top honors, as judged by local gardeners and city employees. The judges use a point evaluation system to determine first-, second- and third-place winners and honorable mentions in each category, which include residential landscaping, patio landscaping, business landscaping and vegetable gardens, among others.
This year’s overall winner was Terence Poje of Strauss Drive, who took first place in the Residential Entire Yard Landscaping and Medium-Sized Lot category; as well as the Lu Walter “Best in Bloom” award.
“It is interesting to note, and could be a sign of the times, that last year we had five entries in the vegetable garden category and this year we had nine entries,” Westlake in Bloom Coordinator Jean Smith said. “People are becoming more interested in where their food comes from and interested in trying to eat more locally grown food.”
Smith also noted that some residents who have submitted entries in past years did not enter this year, but several new homeowners took part in the competition.
“Over the years, we feel that this friendly neighborhood competition has encouraged and motivated residents and businesses to really work on their landscaping, to become more creative and try new plantings and designs,” she said. “We all benefit from the Bloom program because it has helped make the city of Westlake a beautiful place to live, work and visit. I find myself noticing the landscaping throughout other cities and realize how lavish and kept up much of Westlake is.”
Westlake’s four garden centers, Cahoon Nursery, Dean’s Greenhouse, Gale’s Garden Center, and Plant Crafters, contributed gift certificates for first-place winners and discounts on plants for Bloom participants.
A complete list of winners is available on the city’s website.
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