'Burst of Happy' is this week's garden photo winner

There’s a name for Juliette LaMonica’s collection of plants at her home in Dearborn Heights, the one she put together when her mom was no longer able to walk through the yard anymore: LaMonica Oasis.

“People walk by and ask if they can come look at the flowers and I always welcome them,” said LaMonica in an email.

She’s tried a variety of different plants, including petunias, geraniums and Millions bells. She plants taller flowers – zinnias, daisies and cosmos – in the ground behind the potted plants to create a background.

Eventually, LaMonica hopes to create a memorial area in her yard for her father, who died this year from COVID-19. He was 85.

LaMonica’s photo, “Burst of Happy,” is this week’s winner of the Homestyle Garden Photo Contest. She’ll win a free gardening or interior design book. She’ll also be a finalist for the grand prize in a few weeks, a $200 English Gardens gift card.

Voting for the grand prize winner begins shortly. To see all of this year's entries, go to detroitnews.com/gardenphotos2020.