8 AAS Winners that bring Boldness to your garden
Boldness in the garden can be achieved in many ways.
Written by Mark Dwyer
Landscape Prescriptions by MD
Commonly, it’s through the intentional use of interesting and intense color combinations provided by flowers and foliage. In other instances, boldness in the garden can be expressed through visual texture and the use of a wide range of plant material featuring a variety of fine and bold textures.
Bold impact can also be achieved by using plants, individually or in groups, that create dramatic compositions that engage the viewer. Many All-America Selections (AAS) Winners provide value not only for their garden performance but also for their value in achieving that bold look in the garden.
5 tips for creating a bold impact in the garden.
1) Consider plants that have impactful foliage beyond the contribution of flowers. Large, tropical foliage can have an impact as can very fine-textured leaves. The combinations of these textures create a bold presence in the garden and the additional flowering component helps augment and highlight those arrangements.
2) Consider placing impactful, bold plants in situations where they become focal points in the garden. Perhaps included in that container out on the back deck or in a planting bed seen from the windows? Bold combinations can draw the eye and their proper positioning can augment that impact!
3) Bold plants in the garden can be even more impactful when grouped. Consider larger groupings or drifts of bold plants to add additional emphasis and impact in their desired location.
4) A single bold plant or a small grouping of the same plant can be an accent in the container. Or perhaps repeated around the landscape with the intent of providing unity and delightful repetition, thereby encouraging the eye to absorb the combination.
5) Try something new! With so many wonderful plants available, there is no shortage of possibilities out in the garden. All-America Selections Winning plants are already trialed, tested, evaluated, and promoted so you know you’ll have a “slam dunk” variety for your garden!
8 Bold AAS Winners!
Begonia Viking™ XL Red on Chocolate
This all-weather begonia features a profusion of red blooms over glossy, chocolate-colored foliage. This color combination is intensely bold. Reaching up to 34” tall, this plant is excellent for the bed or container and also exhibits heat tolerance and disease resistance.
Kale Prizm
A true “ornamental edible”, the tightly ruffled, blue-green foliage (15”) is attractive in the bed or container. The compact form is quick to re-leaf when harvested and the bold beauty of this plant is indisputable in any sunny location you provide!
Canna South Pacific™ Orange
This compact, seed-grown selection has wide adaptability in the full sun bed or container. Reaching only 32” in height with substantial basal branching, the bold texture of the foliage is augmented by soft, glowing orange blooms…great for hummingbirds!
Celosia Asian Garden
The full branching and sturdy, bushy growth of this annual offers an abundance of spiky pink flowers that show color throughout the summer until hard frost. This pollinator magnet is early to bloom and offers bold and lengthy color on a 40” tall plant. This is a great textural plant as well
Coleus Main Street Beale Street
The first coleus to win the AAS Award, this variety has “raised the bar” for luscious and bold red coloration on a bushy and uniform plant. The deep red foliage is fade resistant and flowers come very late. This plant is effective in shade or sun given adequate soil and moisture.
Sunflower Suntastic Yellow with Black Center
This dwarf (to 20”), well-branched selection is a bold component for the container or garden bed. With up to 20 flowers per plant, the color contribution from 6” diameter golden blooms with a chocolate brown center is not insignificant. This is also a great plant for birds, butterflies, and bees.
Impatiens Bounce™ Pink Flame PPAF ‘Balboufink’
These New Guinea type impatiens are downy mildew resistant, heat tolerant, and low maintenance. Smothered in stunning, bright pink, bicolor blooms, this compact (20”) selection is well-branched and thrives in a wide range of conditions. For bold impact in a partly shaded location, consider using this selection en masse!
Impatiens SunPatiens® Vigorous Shell Pink
Soft pink blooms with hints of coral will smother this tough annual. Resistant to downy mildew while tolerating heat, humidity, rain, sun, and shade, this selection is a bold, top performer for the container or garden bed. Consider the value of massing this variety as well!
“This post is provided as an education/inspirational service of All-America Selections. Please credit and link to All-America Selections when using all or parts of this article.”
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