Streetscapes in Bloom

FAREWELL AND THANK YOU

After 26 successful years, the Streetscapes in Bloom award concluded in 2023, leaving behind a legacy of urban gardening excellence and community beautification.

The award’s history dates to 1996, when a cross-Canada competition called Communities in Bloom was launched and the front yard garden grouping from 90-98 Winchester won an award. This inspired the CPA to launch an annual Streetscapes in Bloom Award the following year. Its goal was to celebrate masterful urban gardening while also inspiring residents to transform unkept yards into beautiful green spaces.

A volunteer committee would gather over the summer months to critique a selection of community nominated front gardens. Key criteria included plant variety, hard landscaping, design, maintenance, and overall impression. Winners received a unique art glass medallion from Kitras Glass, designed by Steve Yeates, and a watercolour painting of their garden. Over the years, this award significantly enhanced the front gardens of Cabbagetown and beautified the neighbourhood.

In 2023, our winning garden was 7 Winchester Street. This garden features a thoughtful arrangement of heights, textures, plant types, density, and colours. Clearly developed and nurtured over many years, this garden reflects the owner’s dedication and meticulous care. Its striking beauty is such that it would naturally catch your eye, even outside the context of the competition, standing as a testament to the transformative power of gardening in our community.

Over the years, this award achieved its goal, having significantly enhanced the front gardens of Cabbagetown and beautified the neighbourhood. That is why we marked 2023 as our final year. We are now focusing on creating new programming that will hopefully have the same positive impact on our community. While the award has drawn to a close, its legacy remains in the vibrant, blooming streetscapes enjoyed by all. We extend our gratitude to Helen Coltrinari and Stephen Boddy who led the event for its duration and to all other participants who helped make our community more beautiful.

Thank you!

*****

THE STORY

In 1996, a cross-Canada competition called “Communities in Bloom” , similar to the European “villages fleuris”, was launched . The City of Toronto won for Best Capital City in the nation, and the front yard garden grouping from 90-98 Winchester won a designated site award as part of a local community project category.

Inspired by this the CPA began presenting the annual Streetscapes in Bloom awards in 1997. This complements our Hidden Gardens & Private Spaces Tour in that these street facing gardens are available to everyone, every day over the gardening season.

The winner of this award received a unique art glass medallion from Kitras Glass in Elora designed by our graphic designer Steve Yeates, and a water colour portrait of the garden by a local artist.

2023 JUDGES
  • Sarah McCarten, Chair
  • Helen Coltrinari, Past Chair
  • Stephen Boddy
  • Barry Wallace
  • Jan Zurowski

The 2023 Winning Garden is:
7 Winchester Street

Keep your eyes peeled for information on our next
Hidden Gardens and Private Spaces Tour
Date: June 2024

CRITERIA
  • plant material (annuals, perennials, shrubs, evergreens, biodiversity, sustainability)
  • hard landscaping (paving material, water feature, sculptures, fences, lighting)
  • landscape design (path system, winter interest, containers)
  • execution (manicured, weeded, tended, cared for)
  • overall impression

Points are given in each category, tallied at the end, and a winner determined.

NOMINATION & JUDGING

Any street facing garden in Cabbagetown (the  boundaries are on the home page) may be nominated. The address of the garden must be submitted to the CPA before June 10.  It helps to say why you think this garden should win the award.

Once the nominations are in, the judging panel, composed of past winners and members of the CPA Board, visit the nominated gardens four times over the months of June, July, August and September, and assess the gardens according to a set of criteria developed by the committee.

SPECIAL NOTE

Gardens change over the years. Houses are sold. New owners may not be gardeners. The Judging Committee wishes to acknowledge that the year a garden wins indicates that in that year, the garden was worthy of the award. The CPA cannot be accountable for changes in ownership or care of the garden over the years. As Hugh Johnson stated:

No two gardens are the same; no two days are the same in one garden

A THOUGHT FOR THESE TROUBLED TIMES

"Gardening situates you in a different kind of time, the antithesis of the agitating present of social media. Time becomes circular, not chronological; minutes stretch into hours; some actions don’t bear fruit for decades. The gardener is not immune to attrition and loss, but is daily confronted by the ongoing good news of fecundity. A peony returns, alien pink shoots thrusting from bare soil. The fennel self-seeds; there is an abundance of cosmos out of nowhere." 

Olivia Laing, Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency, 2020. 

PAST WINNERS

19 Amelia St. (2015)

28 Amelia St. (2006)

62 Amelia St. (2014)

70 Amelia St. (2019)

76 Amelia St. (2002)

94 Amelia St. (1998)

310 Berkeley St. (2022)

338 Berkeley St. (2020)

270 Carlton St. (2012/dual)

274 Carlton St. (2011)

308 Carlton St. (2008)

334 Carlton St. (2004)

2 Geneva Ave. (2005)

5-7 Geneva Ave. (2007)

18 Metcalfe St. (2010)

68 Metcalfe St.  (2018)

403 Sackville St. (2013)

427 Sackville St. (2012/dual)

31 Spruce St. (1999)

60 Spruce St. (2003)

331 Wellesley St. (2001)

368 Wellesley St. (2009/dual)

419 Wellesley St. (2000)

439 Wellesley St. E. (2021)

456 Wellesley St. E. (2017)

90-98 Winchester St. (1996)

112 Winchester St. (2016)

118 Winchester St. (2009/dual)

123 Winchester St. (1997)