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Each year the All-America Selections committee picks flower and vegetable variety winners based on reports received from various “All-America Test Gardens” in different regions of the country.
Winners of this award are usually a good bet for gardeners because they have performed well under a wide variety of conditions and have something new or unusual to offer consumers. Think of All-America Selections as the Good Housekeeping seal of approval of the gardening world.
For 2010, four flower varieties were deemed worthy of being an AAS winner.
The Zahara starlight rose zinnia produces rose and white bicolor flowers. Zinnias are easy to grow from seed and prefer full sun. This zinnia is reported to be resistant to mildew and leaf spot, which can be a problem in our area.
I like snapdragons, and twinny peach is characterized by a double or butterfly flower form that does not have the jaws or joints to snap. The double flower form is the origin for the name “twinny” or twins.
No other snapdragon offers the distinct blend of peach, yellow and light orange. Twinny peach is reported to flower more consistently throughout the entire season.
The endurio sky blue martein is a unique spreading/mounding viola that may look delicate, but delivers tough-as-nails performance in the garden. It can be planted in early spring, covering planters and landscapes with sky-blue blooms well into summer. This at least hints that perhaps this viola is a bit more heat-tolerant. Its mounding habit makes it more versatile as a bedding plant, or in containers.
The mesa yellow gaillardia looks interesting. The neat, mounded plants are adaptable to smaller space gardens or any type of containers. When planted near the inside edge of the container, they will cascade down the container. Mesa yellow plants proved to be wind- and rain-resistant, meaning the plants recover quickly from severe weather.
Look for the 2010 All-America Selections (they are usually marked with a shield-shaped tag with the American flag) in seed catalogs or at area garden centers and nurseries.
