This year, the committee of Humboldt's Communities in Bloom program took on a new initiative by organizing a subsidiary contest for the best gardens in the city. Presentations to the winners were made at an informal ceremony at Water Ridge Park on August 15.
"Tonight we are here to recognize the winners of our Blooms of the Community program," said committee member Janice Ruedig. "But before that, I'd like to thank committee member Cori Norman for all the work she has done in putting this new program together."
Norman was responsible for establishing the different categories that residents could enter their gardens in, as well as defining the criteria that the judges would use as a guideline when visiting the gardens.
"It was a lot of firsts for this year," Norman said. "We made up a score sheet, so that it was uniformed and they (the judges) knew what to look for when assigning points."
The Blooms of the Community program invited members of the community to enter different categories such as best front yard, best back yard, best feature garden, et cetera. A total of 11 awards were attributed to Humboldt residents and businesses. The winners for 2012 are as follows:
In the residential category:
Best Home Grounds - Front Yard: Patti Durand;
Best Home Grounds - Back Yard: Frances Lueke;
Best Home Feature - Tony and Sandy Stroeder, for use of stonework in their yard;
Best Mobile Home Grounds: Diane Langkammer;
Best Vegetable Garden: Frances Lueke;
Best Vegetable Patch: Patti Durand;
Best Flower Patch: Maureen and Tom Johnson, for a themed-flower bed.
In the commercial category:
Best Commercial Grounds: Humboldt Golf Course.
In the Golden Bloom category (75 years and older)
Best Home Grounds - Front and Back yard: Margaret Albers;
Best Vegetable Garden - Margaret Albers;
Best Senior Housing Complex - Caleb Village.
On behalf of the City of Humboldt, Mayor Malcolm Eaton congratulated all the winners for their contribution to the community.
"It's not just about the flowers and the gardens, as important as that is," said Eaton. "It's about the community spirit and the community involvement and the way people are really taking pride in the community in a big way."
In closing, Ruedig congratulated all participants and thanked them for helping to make Humboldt a beautiful community to live in.
