Sarasota Garden Club awards curb appeal

The Civic Beautification Awards celebrate 50th anniversary and properties that have maintained their green spaces.

By Amanda Morales
| 6:00 a.m. October 8, 2015

The Sarasota Garden Club selected the St. Armands Lutheran Church for their incorporation of green space into the campus.

Sarasota
Neighbors

According to the Sarasota Garden Club, taking care of your property and taking care of your customers go hand in hand.

List of honorees for the Civic Beautification 50th anniversary

Burke Antiques
Checkers on Ringling Boulevard
Church of the Redeemer
Condo on the Bay
Cove Cleaners
Ed Smith Stadium
Fresenius Medical Care
Gateway Bank
Gulf to Bay Condominium Association, Inc.
IBE International Barter Exchange
L’Elegance on Lido Beach
Marietta Museum of Art and Whimsy
Mercedes-Benz on Sarasota
Nancy’s Bar-B-Q
One Sarasota Tower
Palmer Ranch Property Owners Association
Plymouth Harbor on Sarasota Bay
Pines of Sarasota
Ringling College of Art and Design
Sarasota Bay Club
Sarasota Public Works Department
Sarasota Yacht Club
Shapiro, Goldman, Babboni & Walsh Attorneys, Holton House
Siesta Dunes
St. Armands Circle Association
St. Armands Key Lutheran Church
Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport
The 1250 Medical Plaza
Turtle Rock at Palmer Ranch
Village Gardens Condominium Association, Inc
Village Walk at Palmer Ranch
Vistas on Beneva Condominium Association

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the club’s Civic Beautification Awards, which recognize churches, homeowners associations, businesses, condominiums, nonprofit organizations and government buildings for their efforts to improve Sarasota’s curb appeal.

Every year, club members submit properties that have spruced up their appearance. The club’s beautification committee reviews the list and photographs locations to determine which ones deserve awards. The awards mirror the club’s goal of maintaining local green spaces.

Patricia Bonarer, the club’s civic beautification committee chairwoman, says this year, the club chose to recognize properties that have maintained curb appeal over the years and have received at least two previous awards.

“For 80 years, the SGC has worked with our business community to educate, inform, maintain and improve our tree canopy and green spaces,” says Bonarer. “We care about the people and what they have done with their space.”

Nancy's BBQ on Pineapple Avenue incorporates farm equipment into the rural-themed landscape. The design allows for outside seating for patrons to take in the patch of greenery the middle of Downtown Sarasota.

This year, the club recognized 32 businesses and organizations, including the Church of the Redeemer, the Marietta Museum of Art and Whimsy, Pines of Sarasota and Nancy’s BBQ. Bonarer says she appreciates the landscaping at Nancy’s BBQ because of its creative use of plants in a downtown area.

“I have taken people who are not gardeners with me, and it’s really funny,” she says. “It’s what appeals to the public. We’re not even looking at it as a gardener. We’re just looking at it to see how it appeals.”

Properties from North Tamiami Trail to Palmer Ranch and from Lido Key to Interstate-75 are eligible. Properties can win every two years unless landscaping has been changed significantly in the previous year. The club will announce special awards at a ceremony Oct. 14, at the Sarasota Garden Club.

St. Armands Circle Association Executive Director Diana Corrigan says she was thrilled to hear that landscaping efforts by the city and the association were recognized.

St. Armands Circle Association will be recognized at the 50th anniversary for the Civic Beautification Awards on Oct. 14 for its continued efforts to maintain the curb appeal.

She says everyone from residents to merchants and the city work together to keep up the Circle, whether it’s for landscaping or just picking up trash while walking the Circle.

“We’re always trying to keep St. Armands the jewel of Sarasota,” says Corrigan.