Caroline Haist has proof flowers don't need to be on "steroids" to be beautiful. The green grass in her front yard at 71 Kathryn Cres. was replaced four years ago with a cascading arrangement of flowers, ground cover and small shrubs, which can be seen from down the street. "I had so much trouble with the shape of my front yard. The grass was always dead on one side, so I took some plants from the backyard and years later I'm still fine_tuning it," she said. "My aim now is to get rid of all the grass in the backyard, which will be turned into gardens." A quick tour of her gardens, including a two-tier pond that surrounds Haist's Thibeault Terrace home, is enough to convince anyone why she is this year's winner of the Best-Looking Organic Yard Contest sponsored by Nipissing Environmental Watch. "We've certainly seen some improvement in the quality of gardens," said volunteer Peggy Walsh Craig. "They are quite stunning." Craig said the purpose of the contest is to demonstrate that a beautiful garden is possible without toxic chemicals. Haist wasn't recognized just for her green thumb, but also for being conscious of the environment. She doesn't use any commercial fertilizers. Instead, she's become dependent on compost. Haist has three large compost bins located in a fenced-off area at the back of her property. She makes it a point to compost everything she can, such as food scraps, egg shells and clippings from her gardens. "I also make my own leaf mulch. I shred leaves in the spring and fall and put them in my garden," Haist said. "I'd love to add a few more bags, but I've run out." Haist has also been nominated in the North Bay Blooms contest and was featured on this spring's North Bay Symphony Garden Tour. This year she finally convinced herself to put her flowers on display. However, the invitation to open her gardens to the public meant lots of extra time weeding and dead-heading. "I was out there at least five or six hours every day," said the retired Canadore College English teacher. "It's a work in progress. A gardener is never satisfied." Haist said her love for gardening started as a child, but she became more serious once she retired. "This year's wet weather hasn't posed any problems. In fact, it's helped me. I've done a lot of transplanting and I don't have to bring the hose all over the house to water," Haist said. "But it doesn't matter. I've gardened in the rain before." There is one problem out of Haist's control -- pests. She said deer have stripped sections of her lily of the valley garden and eaten the tops of many pansies and tulips. "There's some type of bug eating my hops and grape vines and beetles have infested my oriental and dragon lilies," Haist said. "It's inevitable there will be pests. I've also taken out a few ant mounds this year." --- THE WINNERS $300 grand prize for best-looking garden -- Caroline Haist, 71 Kathryn Cres. Second place ($100 cash) -- Yvonne Liberty, 7 Strathcona Dr. Third place ($50 gift certificate) -- Donna Sinclair, 975 Jane St. The Nugget Article ID# 1122548

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