Photography courtesy All-America Selections
Deep velvety purple Jams ‘N Jellies Blackberry vinca
Nothing beats the gardening excitement of spring. We rush to the soil with our pent-up, cabin-fevered energy, ready to dig deep and bring forth multitudes of blooms. We dream of bushels of produce erupting from our garden beds. We desire the lush landscapes profiled in the seed catalogs and gardening magazines that have peppered our mailboxes all winter, wooing us with their prodigious photos of eye-popping color.
The chorus is the same: Tell us what’s new, what we must have, what will make our hearts sing all summer long. This is the season ripe with possibilities and flush with anticipation.
Thankfully, plant breeders and testers were at work all fall, winnowing the scope of possible plants into lists of prime performers. They do the heavy lifting so you don’t have to.
“I am one of those people who literally drool over all the seed and garden catalogs,” admits Diane Blazek, executive director of the National Garden Bureau (NGB) and the All-America Selections (AAS) program. The National Garden Bureau keeps track of the hundreds of new variety offerings each year, noting the hottest trends we’ll see in the 2012 seed catalogs and in our local greenhouses. Testers for the All-America Selections program report their best performers from the previous season, the results of which point to the newest plants to win the All-America honors.
“Seeing all the new varieties from the AAS Winners and the NGB members has definitely prompted me to try my hand at starting from seed,” says Blazek. “I asked my husband for seed starting mats for Christmas and got two.”
Seed starting is the way to go for hard-to-find varieties. Check the back of your seed packets and count back from our last frost date (May 15) to determine when to start your seeds. And be sure to order early, as seeds of new varieties tend to sell out.
RICH JEWELS OF COLOR
The hottest trends we expect to see this year? A continuation of the fascination with dark purple and black plants, so striking in the landscape among a sea of greens. Look for the deep purple “Amethyst” bean or the dark foliage of “Mahogany Splendor” hibiscus. The ornamental pepper “Black Olive” offers both dark purple foliage and purple-black fruit, which matures to a dramatic ruby red. Voted as the flower winner for 2012 by the AAS judges for not only its startling beauty but also its heat tolerance, it will be a standout as a border plant, a container accent, and a star in cut flower arrangements. With these dark foliages set against the season’s hottest color—tangerine— the garden really pops with the contrast. Look for the new “Fantasy Apricot” linaria or “Bonanza Deep Orange” marigold to add jolts of jeweled color.
Textures also continue their prominence in design, like the frilly edged leaves of the “Apple Crisp” heuchera.
FORM & FUNCTION
Edible gardening continues its popularity, now less of a trend and more of a necessity in garden design. We’re constantly eking out more space for pots of herbs, trellises of beans, and hanging bags of tomatoes, even carving into our front yards. Blazek, who installed raised beds in her garden last year, relies on containers to control her gardening chores as she balances work and family.
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The 2012 winner Cayennetta pepper is highly ornamental and offers tasty treats.
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The prolific blooming salvia coccina Summer Pink Jewel.
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The ornamental “Black Olive” pepper offers dark purple foliage and purple-black fruit that matures to ruby red.
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The creamy yellow rind and super-sweet pink-red fruit of the “Faerie” watermelon made it a 2012 award-winner.
