The Garden Club of the Northern Neck presented its biannual Beautification Awards last month to three outstanding examples of landscaping and improvement of surroundings by civic, commercial, educational or professional establishments in the Northern Neck, according to Jane Henley, Conservation and Beautification Committee Chair.
Honorees were Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury Irvington (Lancaster County), the Town of Warsaw (Richmond County), and garden of William and Joan Dawson in Hague (Westmoreland County)..
Damon Schowning, Director of Landscaping, and Stuart Bunting, CEO, accepted the award for Rappahannock Westminster Canterbury. The award honors the organization’s dedication to outstanding and diverse plant selections for 30 years.
Henley remembered remembered the property in 1984 when her mother-in-law, an initial resident, moved in. “It has blossomed beyond belief,” she said. “The residents, visitors, and wildlife creatures today and in the future all benefit from the choices made by a dedicated staff of caretakers who continually enhance the natural beauty of the outdoor space on the property.”
The Warsaw Town Park received the Richmond County award. Mayor Mark Milstead and Town Manager John Slusser accepted the certificate for the attractive and welcoming landscaping at the park entrance as well as the development of the area for picnics and play equipment to attract all ages, according to Henley.
“We had no idea this park was so needed,” Milstead said. “It is not uncommon to see it utilized by as many 100 to 150 children and adults on weekends. It is the most popular public effort The Town of Warsaw has ever undertaken.”
The William and Joan Dawson Garden at 3241 Oldhams Road in Hague received the Garden Club members votes because of the pleasure it gives all those who pass by and are cheered by its ever changing seasonal and holiday floral and garden enhancements, creatively designed to be shared by the residents of Westmoreland County and visitors to the county, Henley said. She presented the award to Mr. Dawson with the citation “your garden makes us smile every time we visit it from our cars.”
featured image: Jane Henley of the Garden Club of the Northern Neck presenting the award to Damon S. Chowning , Director of Landscaping and Stuart Bunting, CEO of Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury.
