Denise Bradshaw and team win 2015 Sposato flower pot competition

Her customer’s instruction was simple and direct, “Make it look good.” So Denise Bradshaw, a residential account manager for Sposato Landscape, did just that. Bradshaw and her team, consisting of crew leader Martin Aguilar and Nick Rodriguez, put their creative skills to work and the result won first place in the Sposato Summer Flower Pot competition. “Tony [Sposato] challenged everyone to get more creative with our summer annuals,” said Bradshaw, who created a gorgeous arrangement of mandevilla, caladium and wave petunias. “We wanted different colors. We wanted tropicals. It’s all about the color scheme. I used flowers that I knew my customer liked.”

Second place went to residential account manager Liz Horner and her team of Onesimo Cruz-Arono and Juan Andrade. Their entry consisted of an arrangement of pink dipladenia, pink and white impatiens, and green and purple sweet potato vine. Residential account manager Mark Snyder, who won the contest last year, finished third.

And what’s the key to a successful flower pot design? “First, you need the right soil level,” said Bradshaw. “You have to have the right amount of water going to the plants. Then, you put the taller plants in the back and the shorter ones up front.”

Over 30 flower pots were judged in the competition. Managers took photos of their favorite pots, and a group of outside floral enthusiasts rated them. Bradshaw, an eight-year Sposato veteran, plans to recognize her team with a luncheon. “I love planting containers," she said. “Because you’re working with small spaces, you can try different combinations of flowers and colors.”