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Post a commentGarden makeover honors Chalfont woman’s late father
Overgrown with weeds and unruly shrubs, Eva Kozari’s “ugly” front yard is a far cry from its once comely existence.
Now, the Chalfont homeowner will receive a garden makeover and design for botanical success as winner of Seasons Garden Center’s “Ugly Garden Contest.”
Kozari entered the contest this summer in hopes of renewing her home’s landscape and honoring her father, Julius, who died of esophageal cancer in July.
“He loved gardening and had a fruitful garden last year at the age of 90,” she said. “Even though he was weak with cancer, he managed to plant his Hungarian pepper seeds [in April].”
Between losing her father, working two jobs and raising two teenage daughters and two golden retrievers, maintaining the garden plot fell by the wayside.
“It’s been a difficult year for our family,” she said. “There was literally no time to worry how the yard looked. When I saw the information on the contest, I hoped we would win so that I could dedicate the new space as a tribute to my father.”
Kozari said her father also grew several flower gardens around his home and made bird feeders so he could watch the critters from his kitchen window.
“Recreating my front garden would be a tribute to his love of nature and a remembrance of him,” she said.
Seasons, located in Washington Crossing, opened the contest in August to identify properties in need of a green thumb and provide owners with a plan for the future, said owner and manager Dan Piestor.
“When you work in our business, you sometimes forget how difficult designing and maintaining a beautiful garden is,” he said. “We were hoping to find deserving people like Eva, who need some help in getting their gardens back in shape.”
Kozari’s submission was selected for the touching story at its roots, said Piestor. “We chose her from the hundreds of entries we received because it was evident she needed help, but couldn’t do it on her own after the death of her father,” he said. “Eva won because of her garden, but more importantly, her personal story and desire to regain her home.”
The first step, he added, is to educate Kozari on garden maintenance.
“If you teach a family to garden properly and simply, their yard will never be a chore,” he said. “In addition to a $500 gift card to Seasons Garden Center, we are also sending our landscape design team to create a design for the property. We believe by giving her the knowledge, she will be able to maintain the garden forever.”
Though she was a little embarrassed by the title, Kozari said she was thrilled to hear her garden named the “ugliest.”
“It is such a great blessing,” she said. “Without this help I don’t know how I would ever get my garden back into shape; it needs a lot of work.”
This is the first year Seasons is running its “Ugly Garden Contest,” which spawned from a staff brainstorming session, said Piestor.
“The idea came from those ‘Extreme Makover’ shows, but so many people are entering that and it’s such a big deal to qualify,” he said. “We thought it would be great to do something like that one a smaller scale so somebody local could really have hope of winning; it’s our way of giving back and having a little fun in the process.”
In addition to the “Ugly Garden Contest,” Seasons is active in the community, having participated in the New Hope and Newtown home tours, donating plantings to the New Hope Arts Center and more.
The garden center, located at 1069 River Road, also will host a variety of free workshops on everything from planting container gardens to creating lush gardens in small spaces, decorating for the holidays and more.
For more information on upcoming events, or to ask questions regarding landscaping and design, visit www.seasonsgardencenter.com.
Now, the Chalfont homeowner will receive a garden makeover and design for botanical success as winner of Seasons Garden Center’s “Ugly Garden Contest.”
Kozari entered the contest this summer in hopes of renewing her home’s landscape and honoring her father, Julius, who died of esophageal cancer in July.
“He loved gardening and had a fruitful garden last year at the age of 90,” she said. “Even though he was weak with cancer, he managed to plant his Hungarian pepper seeds [in April].”
Between losing her father, working two jobs and raising two teenage daughters and two golden retrievers, maintaining the garden plot fell by the wayside.
“It’s been a difficult year for our family,” she said. “There was literally no time to worry how the yard looked. When I saw the information on the contest, I hoped we would win so that I could dedicate the new space as a tribute to my father.”
Kozari said her father also grew several flower gardens around his home and made bird feeders so he could watch the critters from his kitchen window.
“Recreating my front garden would be a tribute to his love of nature and a remembrance of him,” she said.
Seasons, located in Washington Crossing, opened the contest in August to identify properties in need of a green thumb and provide owners with a plan for the future, said owner and manager Dan Piestor.
“When you work in our business, you sometimes forget how difficult designing and maintaining a beautiful garden is,” he said. “We were hoping to find deserving people like Eva, who need some help in getting their gardens back in shape.”
Kozari’s submission was selected for the touching story at its roots, said Piestor. “We chose her from the hundreds of entries we received because it was evident she needed help, but couldn’t do it on her own after the death of her father,” he said. “Eva won because of her garden, but more importantly, her personal story and desire to regain her home.”
The first step, he added, is to educate Kozari on garden maintenance.
“If you teach a family to garden properly and simply, their yard will never be a chore,” he said. “In addition to a $500 gift card to Seasons Garden Center, we are also sending our landscape design team to create a design for the property. We believe by giving her the knowledge, she will be able to maintain the garden forever.”
Though she was a little embarrassed by the title, Kozari said she was thrilled to hear her garden named the “ugliest.”
“It is such a great blessing,” she said. “Without this help I don’t know how I would ever get my garden back into shape; it needs a lot of work.”
This is the first year Seasons is running its “Ugly Garden Contest,” which spawned from a staff brainstorming session, said Piestor.
“The idea came from those ‘Extreme Makover’ shows, but so many people are entering that and it’s such a big deal to qualify,” he said. “We thought it would be great to do something like that one a smaller scale so somebody local could really have hope of winning; it’s our way of giving back and having a little fun in the process.”
In addition to the “Ugly Garden Contest,” Seasons is active in the community, having participated in the New Hope and Newtown home tours, donating plantings to the New Hope Arts Center and more.
The garden center, located at 1069 River Road, also will host a variety of free workshops on everything from planting container gardens to creating lush gardens in small spaces, decorating for the holidays and more.
For more information on upcoming events, or to ask questions regarding landscaping and design, visit www.seasonsgardencenter.com.
