South River properties blossom in first annual gardening contest


Olivia Bradbury / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The town of South River recently held its first annual gardening contest.
South River Deputy Mayor Melissa Hierlihy says the idea arose from casual conversation about putting effort into the town’s green spaces and a discussion of the beautiful properties found in South River.
“People seem to take a lot more pride in their properties these days,” said Hierlihy, noting people are doing more at-home gardening and are more aware of things such as the need to sustain the bee population and attract pollinators.
The Town felt a contest might encourage more residents to develop an interest in gardening. “We thought it would be a good idea to try to understand what residents around town were doing,” Hierlihy said, “and try to encourage residents to get a little more involved and be a little bit more active in gardening.”
The Town posted about the gardening contest on its Facebook page in mid-June. They told gardeners interested in participating to register prior to July 27, which was the day that judging was to take place. They ended up with seven registered participants in two categories: Best Garden and Curb Appeal.
Hierlihy and South River resident Nancy Rowe, who grows her own flowers, sells hanging baskets, and has her own greenhouse on Salmon Cove Road, acted as judges for the contest. Judging criteria included general appeal, neatness, colour, texture, uniqueness, effort put into maintenance, and the variety and quality of plants. They visited the gardens of the registered participants and took photos, which they later compared.
“It was nice to be able to get out into the community and meet some of the residents and have them welcome us into their properties and take us around,” said Hierlihy. “All seven of the registered residents, all their properties were beautiful. It wasn’t an easy decision by any stretch.”
The Best Garden winner was Elizabeth Fletcher of Old Cart Road.
“When you walked in her back garden, her property was unbelievable, truly amazing,” said Hierlihy.
Fletcher’s garden is manicured and filled with various species of flowers and shrubs. A trail goes through the backyard, which Hierlihy said gives it a natural look. Fletcher also has a greenhouse made of repurposed materials — for example, the front and back windows consist of glass shower doors. There is also a sizeable fish pond, a fire pit, lighting, and glow-in-the-dark rocks.
“I would recommend anybody that is interested in that sort of thing to go have a look because it was quite impressive,” Hierlihy said.
The Curb Appeal winner was Dora Jones of Springfield Road. Jones’ house is not very visible from the street — a brook runs in front of the property, and on the other side of the brook are tall trees. However, Hierlihy said, the view going up the driveway is beautiful.
“It’s just a really mature lot with beautiful vegetation and just really, really well-kept,” the deputy mayor said.
The back of the property is immaculate, she added, completely devoid of weeds and overgrowth. “Everything is trimmed and cut to perfection,” said Hierlihy. There is a vegetable garden with tomatoes, potatoes, and more. There is also a manicured trail winding along the brook, a seating area with flowers around it, tall emerald trees, a fire pit area, and an outdoor barbecue area called Poppy’s Cookhouse.
The winners of the gardening categories won gift cards, one to Marshall’s Cornershop and one to the South River Ultramar. The town chose these establishments as they wanted to support local businesses through the contest as well.
Hierlihy is looking forward to holding the contest again next year.
“I’m hoping that it will grow and that more people will get involved and I hope that next year, if we get enough entries, that maybe we can even expand on some of the categories that we judge on,” she said.