Photos courtesy Landscape Ontario
Last month, the Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association (LOHTA) announced the winners of its annual Awards of Excellence. Intended to encourage and reward innovation in Ontario landscaping, these awards include a broad category for construction, maintenance, and design. To qualify, projects must have been completed no more than four years ago.
Judges award projects based on qualities such as:
- originality;
- innovation;
- effectiveness of design;
- co-ordination of design elements, plants, and landscape materials;
- quality;
- resolution of site and installation challenges;
- esthetic appearance; and
- maintenance.
Winners for this year’s multi-residential and industrial commercial construction category in the $100,000 to $250,000 range were:
- Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds (project designed by Jordan Vander Klok); and
- Earthscape Ontario (project designed by Anne Gilson).
In the same category, but in the range exceeding $250,000, winners were:
- Oakridge Landscape Contractors Ltd. (project designed by Paul Gorie of Brook Mcilroy);
- Rutherford Contracting Ltd. (project designed by Ian Dance of Dillon Consulting Ltd.);
- Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds (project designed by Rachel Isaacs); and
- CSL Group (project designed by Mark Zuzinjak of GSP Group Inc.).
Oakridge Landscape Contractors Ltd. was named the sole winner in this category’s $50,000 to $100,000 range, thanks to a project designed by Al Regehr. Similarly, a project designed by Lisa Leblanc of Plantenance Design earned Plantenance Landscape Group the theme garden category’s only win.
The following firms were named winners in the water features category:
- Yards Unlimited Landscaping Inc. (project designed by Stephanie Scott);
- HACKStONe Landscapes (project designed by Fran Moore of Vogel Landscape Design);
- Hill’N Dale Landscaping (project designed by James Godbold);
- BonaVista Pools Ltd. (projects designed by David Mather of DCM Design and Scott McQuaig of Eden Tree Design, respectively); and
- Premier Landscaping & Design Ltd. (project designed by Wendy Berger and Joe Morello).
In special interest construction, the following firms were celebrated:
- Kim Price Landscape Design Inc. (project designed by Kim Price);
- the Landmark Group (two projects, both designed by Andrew Lansdale);
- Dr. Landscape Inc. (two projects, both designed by Anthony Lombardi);
- Earthscape Ontario (project designed by Nathaniel Grant);
- Garden City Groundskeeping Services (project designed by Francine Larsen);
- Griffith Property Services Ltd. (project designed by George Griffith);
- Par-Bro Design Build Ltd.;
- Kreative Woodworking (project designed by Pino Prizzi);
- Seferian Design Group (project designed by Carolina Schmitz);
- GBC Design & Build (project designed by Mason Johnston); and
- CSL Group (project designed by Brian Bishop of Amec Foster Wheeler).
Entries for next year’s competition will open July 1 and close October 1.
