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Backyard gardeners open their gates for Kitchen Garden Tour

Gardening. The tour took place around the region on July 28.

| 07 Aug 2024 | 09:10
    WM1 Winners, from back left: Dawn Mele, Patrick Moynihan, Kerry Mayer, Chad Pilieri from Grow Local Greenwood Lake, Denise Holster from Apple Acres Community Garden. Front row: Straus News President Jeanne Straus, Dirt Editor Becca Tucker, Larry Mansour.
    WM1 Winners, from back left: Dawn Mele, Patrick Moynihan, Kerry Mayer, Chad Pilieri from Grow Local Greenwood Lake, Denise Holster from Apple Acres Community Garden. Front row: Straus News President Jeanne Straus, Dirt Editor Becca Tucker, Larry Mansour.
    WM2 Garden peepers tour the Organic Community Garden at Wallisch Homestead in West Milford. (Photo by Jim Segal)
    WM2 Garden peepers tour the Organic Community Garden at Wallisch Homestead in West Milford. (Photo by Jim Segal)
    Rachel DiMartino (in hat) giving a tour of the Landmark Inn garden in Warwick, NY.
    Rachel DiMartino (in hat) giving a tour of the Landmark Inn garden in Warwick, NY. ( Becca Tucker)
    A tour-goer keeps reading material handy at the after party.
    A tour-goer keeps reading material handy at the after party. ( Steve Blum)
    The Perciballis of Lafayette, NJ with their grandson, after a day giving tours of their garden. The Perciballis are past winners of the tour.
    The Perciballis of Lafayette, NJ with their grandson, after a day giving tours of their garden. The Perciballis are past winners of the tour. ( Brianna Kimmel)
    Tour-goers share garden tips and compare notes from the day at the after party in Chester, NY, overlooking the black dirt.
    Tour-goers share garden tips and compare notes from the day at the after party in Chester, NY, overlooking the black dirt. ( Brianna Kimmel)
    Patrick Moynihan of Vernon, NJ won Most Hospitable for the second year in a row. “Patrick is a class act! From start to finish such a warm welcome!,” said one tour-goer.
    Patrick Moynihan of Vernon, NJ won Most Hospitable for the second year in a row. “Patrick is a class act! From start to finish such a warm welcome!,” said one tour-goer. ( Brianna Kimmel)
    Chad Pilieri, of Grow Local Greenwood Lake in Greenwood Lake, NY, took home Best Community Garden for the third year straight.
    Chad Pilieri, of Grow Local Greenwood Lake in Greenwood Lake, NY, took home Best Community Garden for the third year straight. ( Becca Tucker)
    Straus News President Jeanne Straus congratulates second-place winner Dawn Mele, of Vernon, who also tied for first place in 2022.
    Straus News President Jeanne Straus congratulates second-place winner Dawn Mele, of Vernon, who also tied for first place in 2022. ( Brianna Kimmel)
    In a garden party selfie, Patrick Moynihan (center) shows off his award for Most Hospitable garden.
    In a garden party selfie, Patrick Moynihan (center) shows off his award for Most Hospitable garden. ( Brianna Kimmel)
    Larry Manseur of Warwick gives a tour of his orchard, which grows apples, pears, peaches, grapes, apricots and cherries.
    Larry Manseur of Warwick gives a tour of his orchard, which grows apples, pears, peaches, grapes, apricots and cherries. ( Becca Tucker)
    This year’s prize-winning gardeners took home a handsome planter.
    This year’s prize-winning gardeners took home a handsome planter. ( Brianna Kimmel)
    Singer-songwriter Jeff Petescia.
    Singer-songwriter Jeff Petescia. ( Brianna Kimmel)
    Longtime gardener Larry Manseur of Warwick, NY took home Best Kitchen Garden, and new gardener Denise Holster represented Apple Acres Community Garden in West Milford, NJ, which won second place for Best Community Garden.
    Longtime gardener Larry Manseur of Warwick, NY took home Best Kitchen Garden, and new gardener Denise Holster represented Apple Acres Community Garden in West Milford, NJ, which won second place for Best Community Garden. ( Brianna Kimmel)
    Ambassadors from Wallisch Homestead Community Garden greet garden peepers.
    Ambassadors from Wallisch Homestead Community Garden greet garden peepers. ( Jim Segal)
    Black cherry tomatoes at the Landmark Inn garden in Warwick were among the unusual varieties to be seen on the Kitchen Garden Tour.
    Black cherry tomatoes at the Landmark Inn garden in Warwick were among the unusual varieties to be seen on the Kitchen Garden Tour. ( Becca Tucker)
    Dave and Sheila Kobricks’ impressive harvest from their Stockholm, NJ garden.
    Dave and Sheila Kobricks’ impressive harvest from their Stockholm, NJ garden. ( Sheila Kobrick)
    Dawn Mele’s Vernon, NJ garden took home second this year.
    Dawn Mele’s Vernon, NJ garden took home second this year. ( Laura Pietropalo)

Garden peepers young and old spent the day exploring backyard veggie patches, talking tomatoes and honeybees, and snacking on the fruits of 15 gardeners’ labor at Dirt’s 14th annual Kitchen Garden Tour on Sunday, July 28.

“The best part of it was talking to people at all degrees of garden ‘ambition’ and experience. I got a lot of useable suggestions, hoping to have provided some. And so many younger gardeners just starting out!” said Larry Mansour of Warwick, winner of this year’s best kitchen garden.

“It’s fun to talk with like-minded people and people who get all the little victories and the little defeats,” said Dawn Mele, of Vernon, who took home second place.

After the gardens closed their gates at 4 p.m., peepers and gardeners met up at Meadow Blues Coffee, overlooking the black dirt in Chester, NY, for the after party. Tour-goers voted for their favorite gardens and everyone kicked back to enjoy live music, dinner and drinks, and geek out on garden talk.

By popular choice, here are this year’s winners:

Best Kitchen Garden 1st place: Larry Mansour, Warwick, NY
Best Kitchen Garden 2nd place: Dawn Mele, Vernon, NJ
Best Kitchen Garden 3rd place: Kerry Mayer, Vernon, NJ
Best Community Garden 1st place: Common Ground Community Garden, Greenwood Lake, NY
Best Community Garden 2nd place: Apple Acres Community Garden, West Milford, NJ
Most Hospitable: Patrick Moynihan, Vernon, NJ

“Tending a garden is usually a solitary activity. But on this one day, gardeners generously open their gates so that we can all see and get inspired by how other gardeners are doing things, right here, right now,” said Dirt Editor Becca Tucker. “The result is that each of gets a boost in cultivating our own skill set and ingenuity, but also, together, we are building a community centered around plant knowledge that’s growing and evolving in real time.”

The event was made possible by local sponsors: Village Hands Café, Organic Recycling, Hudson Valley Film Fest, Meadow Blues Coffee, Superior Solar, Grow Local Greenwood Lake and the Dirt Foundation.