Her theme was “Pick of the Week,” and she chose a pink and purple color scheme to highlight plants that attract butterflies, accented with pink butterfly nets and little silk butterflies on sticks. “Pick me!” said the hand-written signs she placed throughout the display. When she advanced to the finals — not that I’m bragging — she chose plants that “Soak Up the Sun.” The wonderful endcap included records decorated with names of songs all about summer and sunshine, and her own bathing suit was the topper on her red, orange and yellow display.

The overall winner was Today’s Garden Center’s contestant, Murphy Hendy of A Proper Garden, and the two other contestants, Homestead’s Scott Daly (who won the People’s Choice award for his herb gardening display in the first round) and Dan Truesdale from Rolling Green, provided hearty competition.

Tina’s creativity, self-deprecating humor and enthusiasm made her a real crowd favorite! If you’re too far to visit her store and aren’t already getting her e-newsletter, it’s got some great ideas you can use in your garden center: subscribe here. I can’t wait to see what OFA does with this competition next year!