HAVERHILL — Four decades of careful planning and planting have earned one Haverhill couple the city’s latest gardening honor.
The Haverhill Garden Club has named Jim and Susan Fonseca of Race Street the Garden of the Month winners for July, awarding a landscape the club said reflects both artistry and practicality.
Over 40 years, the Fonsecas have transformed their property into a flourishing garden, decorated with hedges and shrubs that form natural architecture, guiding visitors through the lawn’s layout. Adding to the garden’s structure are numerous flowering plants, including lilies that anchor the space with “elegance,” according to the club.
Beyond the visual appeal, the property also serves up produce for the Fonsecas. The two of them grow a variety of crops, from corn to grapes, demonstrating that a residential garden can be both a beautiful sight and agriculturally productive. Their vegetable beds, fruiting vines and gardens display decades of dedication and horticultural knowledge.
“Jim and Susan’s garden is extraordinary, not only for its beauty, but for the 40 years of care, skill, and heart that have shaped it. It is a true testament to what sustained stewardship can achieve,” said Josiah Morrow, chair of the Garden of the Month Committee.
Susan Fonseca, a past president of the Haverhill Garden Club, previously received the Garden of the Month honor. For their second win, she said they felt proud that their handiwork was being recognized.
The Fonsecas moved to their home in 1982, and in the following year, the garden outside the residence took root.
“My Dad gardened growing up, so I learned from him, and saw just how fun it was,” she said. “It provides food and beauty in our community.”
Today, the couple maintain three separate gardens on the property. They rotate where vegetables are planted so different areas of soil have an opportunity to regain nutrients. Her husband said the size of the property allows them to expand their variety of vegetation through the year.
Fonseca described it as a “mature” garden that has at least one thing in bloom no matter the season.
Their landscape continues to evolve with new projects popping up left and right. A few years ago, they removed 60-foot maple trees to open up the yard, creating more space for their gardens and an array of flowers that attract wildlife like bluebirds.
The Haverhill Garden Club program runs from June through September, with winners selected from public nominations. Eligible gardens must be privately maintained at homes in Haverhill and may be nominated by either the homeowner or another resident.
Josiah Morrow, a Garden Club and School Committee member, said the selection committee evaluates each nominated garden based on several factors, including aesthetics, layout, the incorporation of native plants where possible and the pure effort invested by the gardener.
Morrow chairs the three-member selection committee alongside Carol Goldberg and Leslie Fonseca. The committee makes stops throughout the city, visiting the nominees, conducting a walkthrough before picking the monthly winner.
Founded in 1967, the Haverhill Garden Club promotes gardening education and community engagement through meetings, its annual plant sale, Garden of the Awards, presentations by gardening experts and visits to gardens throughout the city.
Questions about the club, membership or nominations can be submitted by going to the club’s Facebook page at facebook.com/haverhillgardenclub. Nominations must include the garden’s address and contact information.