More than 25,000 visitors flocked to Tidewater Builders Association’s Mid-Atlantic Home & Flower Show at the Virginia Beach Convention Center March 4-6. The event, presented by Belgard Hardscapes, featured hundreds of exhibits for the home and garden, as well as 11 lavish display gardens, floral competitions; a Green Building Council Walkabout, and a competition for Tidewater’s Top Pet hosted by the Virginia Beach SPCA.

Shep Gendron, a German shepherd mix from Chesapeake, was won the Virginia Beach SPCA Tidewater Top Pet Award.

The Virginia Horticultural Foundation announced the following award winners:

LANDSCAPE DISPLAYS:

• People’s Choice Award
  “The Getaway Garden,” K&D Round’s Landscape Services
• Winner Best in Show
  “Beach Garden,” Terra Firma LLC
• First runner up
  “The Getaway Garden,” K&D Round’s Landscape Services
• Second runner up
  “Courtyard Garden,” Beach Groundworks Inc.

Award for Excellence:

• Platinum
  “Beach Garden,” Terra Firma LLC
• Gold
  “The Getaway Garden,” K&D Round’s Landscape Services
  
• Silver
  “Courtyard Garden,” Beach Groundworks Inc.
  “Formal Garden,” Back East Landscaping
  “Tropical Water Garden,” Becker Enterprises
  “Caribbean Garden,” Dreamscape Designers
• Bronze
  “Asian Garden,” Xteriors”

American Horticultural Society Environmental Award
“Beach Garden,” Terra Firma LLC

Virginia Society of Landscape Designers Award for Best Landscape Design
“Beach Garden,” Terra Firma LLC

EDUCATIONAL BOOTH AWARDS:

• First
  Native Plant Society
• Second
  Beekeepers Guild of Southeast Virginia
• Third
  Lynnhaven River Now

ARTIST ALLEY AWARDS:

• First
  “Garden of Glass” by Ann Scherm Baldwin
• Second
  “Secret garden” by Karen Sullivan
• Third
  “Serenity Garden” by Linda House
• Director’s Choice for Best in Show
  “Mixed Group” by Angie Coleman

PLANTED WHEELBARROW:

• First
  “Homage to Georgia O’Keefe: Xeriscape Garden” by Ellen Sinclair, Pam Evans, Bobbie Gunn
• Second
  “Exotica” by Atlantic Garden Center, Megan Darling
• Third
  “Bird Refuge” by Danny’s Gardening Service, Danny M. Lynch

Green Building Council walkabout winners

Seventeen of Tidewater Builders Association’s Green Building Council member companies stepped forward to take show visitors on a walkabout to educate them on how to reduce their carbon footprint.

Visitors picked up their “passports” at the main entrance and had to have it signed at each participating vendor to be eligible for prizes:

The following individuals were awarded prizes, as well as more knowledge about how to make their homes more energy efficient, for participing in the Green Building Council's Walkabout during the show:

• iPad - Cheryl Campbell, Chesapeake
• 22-inch Samsung LCD TV – Connie Ferguson, Chesapeake
• Amazon Kindle – Sherri Stephenson, Virginia Beach
• KitchenAid Chrome Colored 5 Speed Blender – Linda Lynch, Yorktown
• Honeywell Programmable Thermostat – Marla Langford, Virginia Beach
• Virginia Natural Gas Energy Saver Kit – Diana Nalevanko, Virginia Beach
• Columbia Gas of Virginia Energy Saver Kit – Karen L. Cook, Virginia Beach
• Portable Solar Charger – Greg Hood, Virginia Beach
• Wawa $50 Gift Card – Irene Sclafoni, Virginia Beach
• Wawa $50 Gift Card – Kelley Beaty, Virginia Beach
• Wawa $25 Gift Card – Jana Landphair, Virginia Beach