2026 Bungalow Garden Contest Gallery
Best Curb Appeal Winner
Maike Jacobi | Portage Park
What sets your garden apart from the rest? "Our neighbors describe it as a 'Monet painting' with its waterfalls of burgandy, orange, golden tones, and shades and textures in green. The white hydrangea pop against the rich tones and bring out the architecture of our bungalow. I also don't see many front gardens that run along the front of the lawn, which I think makes it pretty special!"
Best Backyard Oasis Winner
Chris Brody | Edison Park
What sets your garden apart from the rest? "It's tiny, but we use every inch. The door in the fence goes nowhere, it's the original kitchen door. All the chandeliers are solar, thx to hubby!"
Best Pollinator Garden Winner
Louise Rider | Portage Park
What sets your garden apart from the rest? "My goal is to bring as many pollinators as I can to my little front yard garden. I love observing which native plants grow the best in my small space, which can successfully spread and reseed without taking over, and which bring the most biodiversity. I like to 'edit' things every year by moving plants around, planting new ones, and dividing some to free up space. And I LOVE giving the plants I divide to my neighbors so they can help bring more pollinators to our neighborhood!"
Did you hire any landscape designers? Give them a shoutout! "T. Anders Landscape Design (@t.anderslandscape on Instagram)"
Best Vegetable & Herb Garden Winner
Angela Jones (Mahogani Phreedom) | Chatham
What sets your garden apart from the rest? "The Sacred Roots Community Healing Garden is more than a garden—it is a living sanctuary where food, medicinal herbs, native pollinator habitat, and community healing flourish together. Every bed is cultivated with intention to promote food sovereignty, herbal education, environmental stewardship, and community wellness. Thoughtfully designed to restore both people and the environment, Sacred Roots reminds us that caring for the earth is also a way of caring for one another."
Did you hire any landscape designers? Give them a shoutout! "The garden was designed, planted, and is lovingly stewarded by me with ongoing support from community volunteers and Sanctuary Stewards."
Best Bungalow Window Box Winner
Joi Edwards-Haynes | Beverly
What sets your garden apart from the rest? "We built our 12 foot long cedar flowerbox specifically for our bungalow, then added: two foliage thrillers — caladiums and coleus — for bold color that holds up between blooms, impatiens to provide continuous color, and sweet potato vine and vinca spilling generously over the edges. Our flowerbox faces 99th Street where neighbors pass by on their way to school or the Metra. It's been a small, happy way to feel like part of the neighborhood."
Best Curb Appeal Runner-Up
Laura Justice | Avondale
What sets your garden apart from the rest? "My front yard garden has been planned to constantly change through out the seasons for something new to see every day of the year, from early spring bulbs, ephemerals and flowering redbuds through summer annuals and perennials and into winter where the perennials stand to catch the light and feed the birds."
Best Backyard Oasis Runner-Up
William & Holly Whedbee | Albany Park
What sets your garden apart from the rest? "Lush greenery, bright flowers, water lillies in a goldfish pond, a shady pergola for sitting and relaxing to the sound of a fountain; a welcome respite from the stress of the day"
Did you hire any landscape designers? Give them a shoutout! "Gomez Brothers"
Best Pollinator Garden Runner-Up
Eileen Kilroy | Norwood Park
What sets your garden apart from the rest? "I garden not only for myself, but for the pollinators and birds, giving them a respite and array of flowers to support them. It's a joy for me to see so many enjoying what I (and nature) have grown for them."
Did you hire any landscape designers? Give them a shoutout! "Yes, we hired Taylor Made Landscape to build one of our gardens, and Maureen educated me considerably on the importance of natives and pollinators."
Best Vegetable & Herb Garden Runner-Up
Laurita Williams | Avalon Park
What sets your garden apart from the rest? "I have made a space where family and friends can enjoy watching Mother Nature provide us with her beauty as well as a bounty to nourish us. As a retiree, I enjoy the peace my garden provides."
Best Bungalow Window Box Runner-Up
Herb Lentz | Beverly
What sets your garden apart from the rest? "Many window boxes go all in on flowers, but mine goes the other way, built mostly from succulents in every shape and shade, from pale green rosettes to deep burgundy aeoniums, with a little coleus tucked in for a spark of contrast. The result is a box you read for texture, not just color, and it shifts character in every light from morning to dusk. Set against the brick, it is less a seasonal display than a small experiment in how much life you can layer into a few feet of soil."
