All-America Selections® Flowers and Vegetables
New Variety Introductions Displayed in Public and College Gardens
Feb 28, 2009
Some of these display gardens specialize in only flowers or vegetables while others dedicate space and workers to both. The primary objective of these display gardens is to acquaint gardeners with All-America Selections® (AAS®) and other ornamental plants. Garden locations are listed at the AAS® website.
Staff at these gardens usually organize "open houses" or "field days" during regional peak growing seasons. These allow professional horticulturists and residential gardeners to exchange ideas about the new introductions.
All-America Selections® DisplayGardens
The motto of AAS® is "Tested Nationally and Proven Locally®". To accomplish this objective, AAS® makes its yearly selections available for display in public garden locations all over North America. The following gardens are examples of the varieties of locations in which to find AAS® plants displayed.
- The International Peace Garden located at the United States and Canadian border between North Dakota and Manitoba is a 2,339-acre non-profit botanical garden. The Formal Garden ranges on both sides of the border with the All-America Selections® Display Garden located near the U. S. entrance to the park. The yearly planting of approximately 150,000 annuals, including those in the AAS® display area, begins in the first week of June and full bloom is best-viewed from mid-July through August.
- The Park Seed Company tests over 2,000 new varieties of flowers and vegetables, including All-America Selections® plants, in a 9-acre Trial Garden located next to its business offices on Hwy 254 N. in Greenwood, SC. Each year, as part of the South Carolina Festival of Flowers, Park Seed holds special Flower Day guided garden tours and Park's professional horticulturists speak on gardening topics. In 2008, AAS® awarded Park's AAS® Display Garden an Exemplary Education Award for being "an excellent example of an outstanding educational field day event." The 2009 Park Seed Company Flower Day is Saturday, June 27.
All-America Selections® for 2009
All of these plants need full sun and moist, well-drained, normal, loamy soil to grow well. They go along with the recent garden trend of small and compact plants that grow as well in containers as in small gardens.
- 'Rain Blue & Purple' Viola Hybrid (Viola cornuta) is one of the longest blooming violas. It produces 1 ½-inch purple and white blooms that mature to purple and blue. Plants are 10 inches tall and spread 10 to 14 inches, making them just right for ground covers, large bed plantings, border fronts, and draping over edges of containers and baskets. 'Rain Blue & Purple' also grows well in partial shade and is tolerant of both extreme heat and cold.
- 'Gretel' Eggplant Hybrid (Solanum melongena) is perfect for containers or mixed with flowers in an annual bed because the plant looks as good as the pure white fruit tastes. 'Gretel' eggplants grow 3 feet high and 2 1/2 feet wide, and fruits mature to 10 inches in about 55 days, but may be picked beginning when they are 3 inches long. These plants prefer dry conditions and can tolerate well-drained sandy soil.
- 'Lambkin' Melon Hybrid (Cucumis melo) is a Spanish dessert melon, a hard-to-find Pielde Sapo, or Christmas-type, that matures early in about 70 days from direct-sowing. Vines are vigorous, produce fruit continuously, and though 6 feet or more wide are good for roomy containers because they grow only 10 inches high. The fruit reaches 2 to 4 pounds and are oval and attractive, with pure white flesh.
- 'Honey Bear' Acorn Squash Hybrid (Cucurbita pepo) is a miniature winter squash, weighing just one pound, that matures in about 100 days from direct sowing. 'Honey Bear' is compact, vigorous, up to five feet wide, and highly disease resistant, especially to powdery mildew. It sets between 3 and 5 fruits.
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