The Garden Masters

2003

The beautiful garden displays at the Spring Home/Garden Show demonstrate some of the best design talent in San Diego. Unlike so many garden shows, limited by the plant palette of a single climate zone, here we see the extreme diversity of plants and designs that are appropriate and thrive in our temperate climate. Given this diversity and the incredible creativity of the Garden Masters, we present one of the greatest garden shows in the country.

Click on the photos to see a large view (and additional photos)
Leaves of Change By Wally Kearns -- Evergreen Nursery	We see leaves on plants daily, but how closely do we pay attention to them? The plants in this garden emphasize the interest and variability of leaves in color, shape and interest. As water rushes over the falls we also capture the gentle motion of leaves…sight, sound, color, size and complexity.
Moonlight Sonata By Shellene Mueller -- Blue Horizon Best of Show Third Place Award of Excellence for Best Combination of Plant Materials Award of Excellence for Best Intimate Garden Award of Excellence for Best Hardscape Feature	Cool blue and silver toned foliage creates a soft romantic garden accented with iceberg roses. Listen to the trickle of the water from the floating urn fountain in the pond by the patio. Relax and enjoy the cool of the evening.
Blazes By Jeff Moore -- Solana Succulents Horticultural Award for Horticultural Excellence Award of Excellence for Best Specialty Garden	Red-hot poker, sticks on fire, blooming aloes fire up this desert succulent garden. Plants in this display require little maintenance to thrive in our warm climate, yet they burst with year round color and interest.
Emerging Spring By Fausto Palafox -- Mission Hills Nursery	Reflecting this time of year, the garden depicts early spring. Leaves are just beginning to unfold from dormancy in the bright but soft spring reds, yellows and greens. Daffodils and paper whites show their happy faces in greeting the new season.
Creation By Sandra Vittum – Weidner’s Gardens and Nature’s Design Landscaping Best of Show Second Place Massachusetts Horticultural Society Medal for Design Excellence Award of Excellence for Best Interpretation of Theme	This is an artist’s garden filled with elements to stimulate the imagination. Art pieces, rocks, and colorful plants tickle the senses with form and texture to enhance creativity.
Polynesian Melody By Mike Hirsch -- Anderson’s La Costa Nursery Award of Excellence for Most Educational Award of Excellence for Best Interpretive Signage	The tropical garden features many species of bamboo. Because of its beauty, many people don’t realize that bamboo is a useful plant as demonstrated by the display items created from the bamboo. Sit a spell and listen to the soft sounds of the waterfall in an island of beauty.
Patio Paradise By George Billingsly, Jr. -- My Back Yard Award of Excellence for Best Home Landscape Award of Excellence for Most Creative Use of Space	A far away escape that’s just steps away from your living room or bedroom. The sounds of running water cascading down rocky falls pooling in a tranquil pond that brings you serenity from the urban hustle and bustle just outside your walls. Surrounding you with lush easy care landscape specimens and plants…Ahhh, Wollomombi!
Along the Path By Anita Green – Landscapes West/A.E. Green Environmental Design Award of Excellence for for Most Appealing to Children Award of Excellence for Best Topiary Feature	Life is neither straight nor consistent, but can include wonderful surprises. This collaborative garden melds the distinctive styles of two designers from the open, public and natural pathway to the intimate enclosed, private garden. Designers took special care to use plants commonly found in local nurseries.
Echoes of the Aegean By Steve Harbour -- Bradley Landscape Development Best of Show First Place Award of Excellence Best Compatibility of Plant Materials Award of Excellence Best San Diego Adapted Garden	The waterwise and appealing style of the meadow garden is equally at home in the eastern Mediterranean or Southern California. An attractive sculpture enhances the meadow giving a vertical focus. Rock walls, pathway and patio surfaces form the structure of the garden, and seem to have grown from the surrounding hillsides.
Choices By Jonathon Bosch -- Suncoast Natural Waterfeatures	Life is full of choices…and it is the details that you select in your life that make your home your own special retreat. Are you longing for the twinkling sound of gently falling water…the gurgling of water a brook…the tumbling splashing of a waterfall?
Child’s Play By Calvin Briers – Advanced Waterscape	This is a child-friendly, low maintenance landscape featuring a lot of color, places to play, even a waterfall and pool. The plants are selected for easy care. It’s all in a small garden setting, as just one example of custom installation.
Wedding Party By Cherie Vaughn – Cherie’s Horticultural Services	This is the moment, just minutes before the arrival of the bride and groom, in the beautiful garden prepared for the wedding. Tables are set and decorated, the cake awaits. This is a special garden for a special day.
Blues on the Square By Paul DeMartini – Classic Gardens Award of Excellence Best Contemporary Garden	All that’s missing are the tuneful notes of the music in this carefully constructed city garden. The geometric architectural theme complements the angular forms of agave, echeverria and blue fescue. Plant foliage and gray-blue wood lath siding mirror the softened blue hues of this garden while the fountain adds visual and sonic dimension.
Aloe-ence By Brandon Bullard -- Desert Theater	Picture the African savannah punctuated with specimen tree aloes from the African continent. Exotic to look at, easy to maintain, the low lying succulents provide year round color in tones of greens, blues and reds. An inviting small backyard garden for beauty, relaxation and enjoyment.
Triton of the Tropics By Mike Ingrande -- Home Depot	A treacherous waterfall and rivers of color accent this lush tropical garden. The luxuriant palette includes palms, cycads, bromeliads, ferns, rare orchid specimens and exotic South African bulbs.
The Edible Jungle By Tricia Renner -- Seasons in the Garden Award of Excellence for Most Dramatic	Plants of Meso-America dominate this fascinating educational and practical garden. Man uses and enjoys many under story jungle plants such as the exotic and rare fruits included here. Art forms from the Aztec, Inca and Mayan empires help us to visualize the native habitat of these species that grow so well in our climate.
Streaming Consciousness By Armando Morales -- Aqua Terra Water Designs Award of Excellence for Best Water Feature People’s Choice Award	The day was long and stressful, the traffic brutal. How can you find a retreat from it all without flying to Fantasy Island? Relax, it’s over. Sit and listen to the murmuring water and leave all those pressures behind.
Respite By David Silver -- Kimo’s Landscaping	This tropical garden is like a small oasis from the outside world. Simple elegance in a tranquil setting with space to relax, entertain or just enjoy time with nature.
Centerpiece