New and Featured Flowers and Vegetables for 2011
Each year, members of the commercial growers and plant marketing worlds pick a handful of distinguished plants to draw to our attention. Some are new introductions, others are old classics that deserve a second look. To a degree, it is a marketing gimmick, but it is also a good way to see what is going to be in garden centers this season and maybe even find a new plant that will shine in your garden. At the very least, it's worth taking a look at the plants that will be featured this year.
Each year the All America Selections committee grow and judge hundreds of new flowers and vegetables, with the goal of being able to tell home gardeners which newintroductions are actually worth trying. Some turn out to be all stars,like Kentucky Blue Pole Bean and Petunia F1 'Wave® Purple'. Others fallout of favor. But it is a nice way to give something new a try in yourgarden. These 4 flowers and 3 vegetables are the winners for 2011.More »
Two beauties caught the eyes of the All America Rose Selections judges. Grandiflora 'Dick Clark', shown here, is a bit of a chameleon, starting off dark, dark red and moving from cream edged pink to a velvety bugundy.
Floribunda rose 'Walking On Sunshine'™ is a fluffy, bright lemon yellow with a soft anise scent.
Both are highly recommened as solid growers.More »
Several Amsonia species are native to parts of North America and theygrow with little maintenance and even fewer problems. Grow them fortheir surprising blue flowers, their airy foliage and their brilliantgold fall color. The Perennial Plant Association has named Arkansas Amsonia (Amsonia hubrichtii) 2011 Perennial Plant of the Year, so we should be seeing much more of it. I'm hoping that is so, because I haven't been able to get a photo of Arkansas Amsonia. Featured here is my Eastern Bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana), another easy growing, lovely Amsonia.More »
Horseradish was an interesting choice for the International Herb Association's Herb of the Year. Not many people grow horseradish in their herb gardens. This may be because you don't need many plants to have a good supply of horseradish or perhaps because the plants can be a bit aggressice. But it can easily be grown in containers, or as an annual, and fresh horseradish has a pungency you won't find in a jar.More »
Each year the National Garden Bureau features a vegetable and the many, many varieties available to grow from seed. 2011 is the Year of the Tomato. Can there ever be too many tomatoes? Tomato plants, perhaps, but nottomatoes. I've pulled together some of their suggested varieties forstarting from seed. These are all hybrids and you should be able to mostfind them pretty readily. Several are featured in this photo gallery.
If that's not enough tomato news for you, here is Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Tomatoes.More »
The National Garden Bureau also highlights a flower. Zinnias were chosen for 2011 and you can see some of those varieties in this gallery.
These flowers defy summer. They can take all the heat and abuse we throwat them and keep on blooming. Some of the older varieties can be proneto powdery mildew in humid climates, but the more recent series, like Profusion andZahara, laugh off humidity. It also helps to thwart the problem a bit byplanting your zinnias in mid-summer, rather than at the start of theseason. But don't let a little mildew stop you from growing thesecolorful charmers.More »
1. All America Selections for 2011
Each year the All America Selections committee grow and judge hundreds of new flowers and vegetables, with the goal of being able to tell home gardeners which newintroductions are actually worth trying. Some turn out to be all stars,like Kentucky Blue Pole Bean and Petunia F1 'Wave® Purple'. Others fallout of favor. But it is a nice way to give something new a try in yourgarden. These 4 flowers and 3 vegetables are the winners for 2011.More »
2. 2011 All America Rose Selections
Two beauties caught the eyes of the All America Rose Selections judges. Grandiflora 'Dick Clark', shown here, is a bit of a chameleon, starting off dark, dark red and moving from cream edged pink to a velvety bugundy.
Floribunda rose 'Walking On Sunshine'™ is a fluffy, bright lemon yellow with a soft anise scent.
Both are highly recommened as solid growers.More »
3. Perennial Plant of the Year - Arkansas Amsonia (Amsonia hubrichtii)
Several Amsonia species are native to parts of North America and theygrow with little maintenance and even fewer problems. Grow them fortheir surprising blue flowers, their airy foliage and their brilliantgold fall color. The Perennial Plant Association has named Arkansas Amsonia (Amsonia hubrichtii) 2011 Perennial Plant of the Year, so we should be seeing much more of it. I'm hoping that is so, because I haven't been able to get a photo of Arkansas Amsonia. Featured here is my Eastern Bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana), another easy growing, lovely Amsonia.More »
4. Herb of the Year - Horseradish
Horseradish was an interesting choice for the International Herb Association's Herb of the Year. Not many people grow horseradish in their herb gardens. This may be because you don't need many plants to have a good supply of horseradish or perhaps because the plants can be a bit aggressice. But it can easily be grown in containers, or as an annual, and fresh horseradish has a pungency you won't find in a jar.More »
5. Year of the Tomato
Each year the National Garden Bureau features a vegetable and the many, many varieties available to grow from seed. 2011 is the Year of the Tomato. Can there ever be too many tomatoes? Tomato plants, perhaps, but nottomatoes. I've pulled together some of their suggested varieties forstarting from seed. These are all hybrids and you should be able to mostfind them pretty readily. Several are featured in this photo gallery.
If that's not enough tomato news for you, here is Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Tomatoes.More »
6. Year of the Zinnia
The National Garden Bureau also highlights a flower. Zinnias were chosen for 2011 and you can see some of those varieties in this gallery.
These flowers defy summer. They can take all the heat and abuse we throwat them and keep on blooming. Some of the older varieties can be proneto powdery mildew in humid climates, but the more recent series, like Profusion andZahara, laugh off humidity. It also helps to thwart the problem a bit byplanting your zinnias in mid-summer, rather than at the start of theseason. But don't let a little mildew stop you from growing thesecolorful charmers.More »
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