Nancy Bellaire in Maryland says, "With some special people arriving to see the garden, my husband and I had the gardens and lawn ship shape. You know how you start at one end and work your way around, tidying up the dead flowers and pulling weeds over a week or so? Well for once the whole property was as perfect as we could make it. The judges were coming! As if the garden knew its big chance for fame was coming, it burst into bloom, especially the lilies. I have them to thank for winning the Garden Contest of the Baltimore Sun newspaper! It was a great experience to have knowledgable people come to tour the gardens. They can appreciate all the plants you have collected and (hopefully) artfully arranged. My big day in the paper with some nice photos and article was July 19th. But perfection passes and I'm still out there weeding and watering. And that's a good thing, being out in the garden." Nancy, this is the best I've ever seen your garden look, and we're see so much of it? Seriously, it's stunning. Congrats on the award! Well-deserved.