First Annual Garden Gem Award Winners Announced

The City of Elk River is celebrating its first Garden Gem Award winners. This program recognizes homeowners and businesses with exceptional gardens and landscapes that beautify the community. The Garden Gem Awards were developed by the Beautification and Public Art Committee and funded by the Elk River Economic Development Authority (EDA) and the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA).

“We are thrilled by the levels of participation in the inaugural Garden Gem Awards,” says Josh Mollan, Economic Development Specialist for the City of Elk River. “There's room to grow with more participation next year, but this year's entries reflect how excited the community is to showcase their gardening and landscaping skills.”

Get to know this year's winners and learn more about the program if you want to participate next time. 

The Awards Received 12 Nominations Across Four Categories

The nomination period for the first annual Garden Gem Awards opened in May and ran through July. The City received 12 nominations in four out of five categories. Once the nomination window closed, a team of volunteers and committee members judged the participating properties and scored them based on a set rubric. 

Factors in the judging rubric included:

• Overall attractiveness: There is curb appeal with color, contour, and texture, which enhances the area’s beauty. 
• Design: There is a thoughtful arrangement of plants and features. 
• Plant Variety: There is diversity of plants used in the landscape.
• Environmental Impact: There are sustainable elements, like water conservation, native plants, pollinator support, composting, and solar lights. 
• Creativity: There is a variety of plants and elements to make the landscape fun and unique. 
• Appropriate Maintenance: The garden is well-cared for, and weeds are kept to a minimum.

At their September meetings, the HRA recognized the winners from the single-family and neighborhood categories, and the EDA recognized the winner of the commercial category. Each winner will receive a personalized garden stone and a temporary winner’s sign to be proudly placed on their property.

Get to Know the Winners 

Nominations for the Garden Gem Awards were divided into different categories based on the type of property submitted. This ensured contestants were on a level playing field and competed against others in their category. A home gardener, for example, wouldn't have to compete with an enterprise business that hired a professional landscaping firm. 

Meet the winners and learn where they are excited to win this award.  

Tracey Sando: Winner of the Single Family (Built Before 2000) Category

“I am very proud of my gardens at the end of the day, when I take a walk through any of the 15+ gardens and see how there is flow with color, strong variety, and my keen eye for detail. I cannot believe, over the course of six years, what they have become.

The gardens are very alluring with seating and comfort from front to back. You feel engulfed and transformed into a tropical haven.

I feel like I have created a utopian paradise. You can't look anywhere without finding something whimsical or inviting. It's incredulously eye-catching with the pool, seating areas, and garden statues, which are everywhere in the trees and on the ground. To think that I planted, minus the trees, every single plant here, does blow my mind a bit from time to time. At peak, there are thousands of actual plants. I've tried to do a headcount of them before, and it was too overwhelming.

What I am most proud of, however, is when I am outside working, and I have received the generous gift of pollinators in the area. I selfishly did the gardens for me, but it turned out the butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees love it just as much, and they reward me on a daily basis. It has been the most unexpected and most rewarding result. No matter how you feel at the moment, the gardens, with their pollinators, just dive you deep into serenity and wonder.

Looking back at the end of the day, when my shovels are put down and my body is screaming at me to stop, there is a sense of accomplishment that no job has or ever will provide me with. It is my hobby, my passion, my zen.”

Sarah Quesenberry: Winner of the Single-Family (2000 or Later) Category

“I’m proud of how I have transformed a very neglected yard into a vibrant garden full of color and life. It’s a visible reflection of my hard work and creativity. It is very rewarding when people stop to give me compliments as they walk by. My garden brightens people's day.”

Eileen Stombaugh: Winner of the Neighborhood Category

“In 1930, the Handke Senior High School was built. After 1961, it was transitioned to a Junior High School before becoming an elementary school. In 2001, it became the home of District 728 Community Education. The director at that time commissioned a landscaper to put in perennials and bushes along the front of the building.

My observant husband travels along Main Street daily and felt it was unfortunate that the gardens weren't being tended to. So, 12 years ago, as a new retiree, he thought it was a perfect project for me, and he was correct. Along with my husband and friends, we have been able to put down wood chips a few times over the years, which has helped to keep down the weeds and beautify the area more. I am very pleased that the gardens in the front of this historic building received a Garden Gem Award.”

Plaisted Companies for the Commercial Category

“We at Plaisted Companies are proud of our outdoor display not only because it serves as an incredible sales and inspiration tool, but also because it provides a beautiful space for our employees and customers to gather and enjoy events, like our company cookouts.”

Watch for Next Year's Garden Gem Awards 

After its successful inaugural year, the Garden Gem Awards are likely to return. Whether you are a passionate home gardener or landscaping your business for the first time, there's a category for you. Follow the City of Elk River EDA for news and updates, including announcements about the 2026 Garden Gem Awards. We can't wait to see what you submit.