I was wondering just how I was going to finish off this blog for the season. This being my very first blog ever, I wasn't sure exactly what the protocol was for ending ones blog. Yesterday evening I received news that is JUST PERFECT for my final "Shoenannigans" blog entry.
Some months back (early June) I found a local fb group called "Toronto Balconies Bloom" http://www.facebook.com/groups/84927568684/ I asked to join the group and enjoyed my time visiting that page all summer. During one of my early page visits I noticed a contest for a online photo contest of "edible container gardening" with emphasis on reusing or cheap ideas...on a whim I entered a few photos of my shoebag green wall and promptly forgot about the whole thing.
Well a few months later (end of Oct. actually because I was in Nova Scotia on vacation when it happened) I got an email telling me my time limit for skydrive photos was almost up and could I PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE resubmit them for voting in the contest was still taking place. Well I am not the most tech savy person and I didn't quite know how to extend skydrive timeline and I was 2000 miles from home using a cheap motels internet....so I kinda just tried resubmitting photos and said "the heck with it"
Well here we are a month or so later and WOW I received an email yesterday saying I had WON 2nd place in the "Edible Container Gardening Contest"
I was thrilled, actually I was shocked...Then I wondered what exactly I had won ?? lol I mean truth be told I had no clue what the prizes were, and who. even was doing the judging. As I said "I entered the photos and promptly forgot" at any rate the were asking my permission to use my photo and a small piece of the description I had submitted so I figured I better actually check them out before giving my permission...lol (I am learning the "ins-n-outs" this new fangled thing called the web.)
COPY OF EMAIL :
Congratulations Andrea!
You are second-place winner of the 2011 Edible Garden Container Photo Contest!
Our panel of judges deem your brilliant container of lemon balm to offer tremendous inspirational value. In their words:
- “Well, well, well: I never would have thought of strawberries in shoe bags! Andrea’s container garden caught my imagination for both the utter practicality of reusing a shoe bag and the way it transforms a brick wall into a container garden.” Steven Biggs
- "What a great concept to instantly transform even the smallest wall on the tiniest balcony into a pretty vertical garden." Aldona Satterthwaite
In the spirit of this online show, our plan is to celebrate the conclusion of the contest by posting winning submissions online.
We ask your permission to share the winning photo and accompanying description, your name and location (city only) for promotional purposes by Toronto Balconies Bloom, Toronto Green Community, Riverdale Food Working Group and prize sponsors only. The image and text (attached for your review) will be posted on our websites and possibly reproduced in other formats (e.g. poster, pamphlet or flyer). Please confirm your consent by responding to this email. Once we receive your approval, we can proceed to display winning photos at www.torontobalconiesbloom.ca.
Reading the Quotes of the judges I decided to google their names to see what came up, also finding out my prize involved the Toronto Botanical Gardens which is the gold medal standard of gardens in my area I had a pretty good feeling. When I went back to the fb page to review who the judges were this is what I found...Stay tuned for photos and competition results to be decided by our panel of celebrity gardener judges - Toronto Botanical Garden Director Aldona Satterthwaite, garden writer and blogger Steven Biggs and educator, artist and organizer Lara Lucretia Mrosovsky! I did the google search on the names and wow I was impressed, but I won't toot my own horn anymore on that subject.
Suffice to say that I am pleased as punch to be given this recognition and this is about the most perfect ending for my seasonal blog that I could have envisioned....lol and I love the fact that I won 2nd place because now I HAVE A GOAL TO BEAT next year.
So happy gardenin planning and remember, spring is right around the corner
Here is a photo of my certificate that will pick up this coming week :)
Also including pics of shoebags in growing stage
