Iris Award
The Garden Club awards were given to owners who have shown pride and creativity in maintaining their property. Congratulations to these Shrewsbury residents and may they be an inspiration to others.
Nominations for the Iris Award may be sent at any time to
Shrewsbury Garden Club
Iris Award or Contact Us
20 Maple Circle
Shrewsbury, MA 01545
Please let us know something about why you feel this individual, business or group should receive The Garden Club Iris Award. The awardee will receive a certificate of recognition as well, as a sign posted at the sight of the beautification. Multiple awards may be given so there is no limit to the number of nominations. Garden Club members will review each nominee before making the award.
2026 – Shrewsbury Garden Club Presents June Iris Awards
At the beginning of June, the Shrewsbury Garden Club selected three properties to receive our Iris Award. This honor is presented to homeowners and businesses in recognition of exceptional creativity, skill in the design and maintenance of gardens and landscapes, and to say thank you for helping to beautify our town.
The Garden Club met with the Jaffarian family at 111 Maple Avenue to present an Iris Award. Their property features a wonderful garden border, vegetable plantings, and a dramatic mix of perennials and annuals that bring color and interest to the backyard.
Barbara joined Elaine and Jeanne in presenting an Iris Award to Ellen Hornig at 212 Grafton Street. With a background in horticulture, Ellen has transformed her property into a showplace featuring specimen trees, shrubs, flowering plants, and attractive ground cover.
Jennifer Hale and Andrew O’Connor, of 176 North Quinsigamond Avenue, were also recipients of the Iris Award. Over the years, they have carefully expanded their landscape with flower beds, specialty trees and shrubs, and even a goldfish pond complete with a croaking frog! Photos of their gardens will appear in July, when the daylilies are in full bloom and putting on a spectacular show.
Two more awards were given at the end of June. We have homeowners who have been honored for the second time, Ron and Sherry Alarie of 332 Boylston Street, have wowed us again with their dense display of perennials, shrubs, trees and even a wood carving of an eagle! Kudos to them for keeping the creative juices flowing.
Ann Kokernak of 9 Edgewood Road is a foxglove magician. Hers tower three and a half feet tall and look so gorgeous and showy. Ann does most of the work maintaining her beds and grounds and her property is well laid out.
Congratulations to all of our local gardeners! If you are out for a walk, driving through a neighborhood, or notice a Shrewsbury business with an outstanding garden, please let us know. We want to celebrate the green thumbs and dedicated gardeners who help make Shrewsbury a beautiful place to live.
2024 : The Iris Awards this year were given to the following :
In July, 2024, the Iris award was presented to Beth Murray, Debbie Tardy, Deb Lane, and Nancy Woron. As residents of Francis Gardens, they have taken it upon themselves to keep the grounds of the facility beautifully planted and cared for all year.
The first Iris Award of the season was awarded to David Kurzontkowski in recognition of his restoration of this beautiful building and gardens, located on Main Street.
Check out the pictures of the awardee’s in this link.
2022: The Garden Club is pleased to announce recipients for the 2022 Iris Award. Awards were given to owners who have showed pride and creativity in maintaining their property. The summer of 2022 was a difficult summer to keep yards looking good and these owners did just that. Congratulations to these Shrewsbury residents and may they be an inspiration to others.
The first for this year was awarded to Mr. & Mrs. Vincent Rico who resides at 92 Lake Street.
Andrew Jenkins accepted the Garden Club’s Iris Award on behalf of the Joseph Jenkins Law Firm, located at 7 Grafton Street. Their pretty garden in front of the building is neat, tidy and well maintained with a good choice of plants for the small space. Congratulations and thank you for helping to make Shrewsbury a beautiful town.
An Iris Award was presented to Mr. Haitham Krecht, manager of the Mobil Service Station on 22 Maple Ave. for the outstanding landscaping at his place of business. Adding this oasis of beautiful flowers to busy Maple Ave. is a welcome sight for drivers and walkers. Thank you, Mr. Krecht for helping to make our town of Shrewsbury more beautiful.
2019 recipients were, Ronald and Sherry Alarie of 322 Boylston Street, Alan and Susan Jackson of 167 Maple Ave and Stephan and Noelle Freeman of 256 Oak Street.
2016 : Price Chopper Market was awarded an Iris award for their efforts to make a commercial establishment look attractive with their floral display in front of their building entrance.
2015 : The Iris Award for 2015 was awarded to St. Mary’s Parish located on Main Street. St. Mary’s has continually showed pride in making the entrance to the church attractive and inviting. The display of color and texture is a visual treat. The Garden Club commends St. Mary’s Church for their role in making Shrewsbury more beautiful.
Garden Club members Ann Pignataro (left) and Jane Umphrey (right) present the 2015 Iris Award for Community Beautification to Father Michael Rose.
The first Iris Award was given to Mr. Timothy Camp who resides in the Jordon Pond area of Shrewsbury and has taken on an active roll in helping to clean up and maintain the walking trail which surrounds the pond. We commend Mr. Camp for his continued work to help keep Jordon Pond a place for residents to enjoy.
Garden Club members Alison Ricker (left), Ann Pignataro (center) and Iris Award recipient Timothy Camp (left).
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