Blog

Today, eggplants are appreciated for both their inspiring beauty and delightful flavor. An essential ingredient in cuisines around the world, it is the essence of Greek moussaka, Middle Eastern baba ganoush, Italian eggplant parmigiana, and French ratatouille. The emergence of Asian cuisine has introduced a whole new range of eggplants flavoring delicious stir-fries and curries.Read more

Rudbeckia is a classic All American treasure. Widely known as black-eyed Susan, this North American native can be found growing as a wildflower in fields and along roadsides throughout the country. These reliable plants shine in the garden with an abundance of brightly colored flowers reflecting the brilliant yellows and oranges of the summer sun.Read more

Sweet peppers bring a rainbow of colors and a plethora of shapes to the table. It is easy to value them for looks and flavor alone, but sweet peppers are a nutritional powerhouse as well. A serving of the most popular type in the USA–the sweet bell–contains more vitamin C than the average orange, aRead more

More and more gardeners are seeking out perennial plants. Echinacea are a very popular perennial that fills a number of landscaping needs. They can be long-term investments that offer good value at an effective cost. Echinacea has been one of the varieties seeing a significant growth in breeding activity. It remains a “top five” perennialRead more

All About Tomatoes The modern age of the tomato was ushered in by hybrids such as Big Boy, which is still offered today. The early ripening red tomato was an instant success. Thousands of hybrids have followed, offering gardeners desirable traits such as earliness, crack-resistance, and compact habits. Continued breeding efforts have produced more healthfulRead more

Let’s Get to Know the AAS Judges The horticulture experts who are the AAS Judges sometimes can’t help but pick their favorite AAS Winners. In a series of different surveys we sent to the AAS Judges, we asked them a variety of questions. One of those questions was controversial because how do you ask someoneRead more

Did you know that cucumbers are one of the top five most popular garden vegetables? They are also very adaptable; they have been grown in space as well as a mile underground in a nickel mine. Cucumbers are native to India, where it has been grown for almost 3000 years. Although the first wild cucumbersRead more

Let’s Get to Know the AAS Judges! The AAS Judges are horticulture experts who come to us from varied paths. We have asked our judges a number of questions to allow you, the passionate gardener who loves using AAS Winners, to learn more about the people behind the scores. John Porter Steve Bellavia Rose OberholtzerRead more

What’s not to like about petunias? These incredibly versatile plants come in an abundance of bold colors, are widely adaptable, and largely pest and disease-free. They are low maintenance and drought tolerant, available nation-wide, are a great value, sport a variety of forms and colors, and some even exhibit a light, sweet fragrance.  Additionally, theseRead more

Garden Peas for Spring Planting Get an early start on the gardening season by growing peas. Just when you are beginning to doubt that spring will ever come, you can trek out to the garden and sow seeds of a vegetable that loves the cold a lot more than you do. With small white orRead more