For easy, beautiful flower enjoyment, perennials are always a great option.   Sometimes, getting perennials that prosper year after year, can be a challenge. Drum roll, please… Enter the first-ever herbaceous perennials to win our All-America Selections (AAS) winners award, Echinacea Sombrero® Baja Burgundy and Rudbeckia x American Gold Rush. AAS Perennial Trials Are LocatedRead more

Okay, guys, let’s get down to business. We don’t have hours and hours to spend in the garden. We don’t want wimpy annuals that push out a few blooms and then wither away at the first sign of summer. We don’t need our summer picnics to be remembered for vegetables that taste flat and feelRead more

WOW Your Guests With Unique Vegetables  By Melinda Myers Make your next gathering one to remember by including a few unique vegetables on the relish tray, as a side dish or for dessert. Your guests will be “wowed” not only because you grew your own ingredients, but because of the unique shape, color or flavor ofRead more

Yes, You Can Have it All: Creating a beautiful and edible garden! We all dream of having the beautiful, lush flower gardens that we see in magazines. But practicality is also part of gardening; we want to grow fresh food for our families too. Well, you can have both! Think of using flowers to supplementRead more

Give the Gift of Award-Winning Flowers for Mother’s Day By Melinda Myers Give mom a gift that provides beauty all season long with minimal care. A basket, container or garden bed filled with these award-winning annuals is sure to generate a smile and enjoyment all summer long. If mom likes to garden… Marigold Super HeroRead more

The All-America Selections Regional Awards ARE A BIG DEAL!   With March Madness behind us, regional awards have been on my mind. Regionals in sports tend to be the lead-up to the Big Dance, the big award, the major victory. It’s the ribbon before the trophy. It’s definitely a big deal, at least until theRead more

For all our new fans and followers, we thought this was a great time (spring is gardening time, right?) to answer your questions about our organization. Since a Q&A format is easy to follow, here we go!   What exactly is All-America Selections (AAS)? AAS is a non-profit plant trialing organization that promotes new varietiesRead more

Year of the Pumpkin Our sister organization, National Garden Bureau, has a “Year of” program that selects one type of edible, annual, perennial and bulb plant to highlight for the year. This program has been around since 1980 and continues to grow in scope and reach. For 2019, NGB has chosen the pumpkin as theRead more

Growing Up: Five Vertical Gardening Tips [From one of our AAS Edible/Vegetable judges who has discovered you need a LOT of room for all the entries in the AAS Trials!] “Grow up!”  While that phrase most often is used as an insult for those acting immaturely, it can also be great gardening advice – especiallyRead more

“Why and How I Judge the AAS entries” …a Judge’s Perspective [From a judge who just happens to have an effusive personality that extends way beyond the garden] One of All-America Selections’ outstanding characteristics is that the organization relies on input from horticulture professionals as judges to determine award-winning varieties. (And of course they should–weRead more