Every year since 1933, All-American Selections (AAS) gives out its top awards for the best plants and flowers of the year. AAS is a non-profit that rigorously tests new plant varieties for the home gardener. Their anonymous, impartial trials performed by professional horticulturists select the new plant introductions not yet sold to the public with superior performance.
The organization was founded in 1932 by W. Ray Hastings, president of the Southern Seedsmen’s Association of Atlanta. AAS handed out its first award in 1933 when it selected seven plants, including cantaloupe ‘Honey Rock’ and Nasturtium ‘Golden Gleam’ among their winners.
So if you’re looking for some ideas for what to plant this Spring, may we present….
Broccoli ‘Purple Magic’
One way to get kids to eat their vegetables might be by offering them some purple broccoli. The 2024 vegetable winner from All-American Selections, ‘Purple Magic ‘ broccoli is heat tolerant and easy to grow. An AAS judge called this broccoli, which is more tender and sweet than the green variety, “wicked good.”
Verbena ‘Sweetheart Kisses’
A 2024 AAS flower winner, this verbena was deemed exceptional for its rich pink, red and white blooms. ‘Sweetheart Kisses’ performs well in the sun, is a pollinator favorite and is easy to grow. It works beautifully as groundcover or in containers.
Celosia ‘Burning Embers’
An AAS ornamental winner, celosia ‘Burning Embers’ has gorgeous bronze foliage and intense pink plumes. Larger and longer-lasting flowers and an ability to withstand heat and humidity made this celosia a judge favorite. Celosia is an annual in the amaranth family, Amaranthaceae.
Geranium ‘Big EEZE Pink Batik’
Heat tolerant and exceptional in containers, this ‘Big EEZE Pink Batik’ geranium is wonderfully floriferous with unique batik coloration of pink and white striations on blossoms. All-American Selections judges noted that this geranium maintained consistent bloom color and size throughout the plant.
Broccoli ‘Skytree’
With its sky-high upright stems, ‘Skytree’ broccoli is easier to harvest than other broccoli and in cooking is noted for its great flavor and tender stems.
Marigold ‘Siam Gold’
Globe-like double marigold flowers in a rich golden hue make this mounding annual a beautiful new introduction. The stems are sturdy and keep the flowers upright, with no staking needed. Marigold ‘Siam Gold’ is perfect as a cut flower too.
Petunia ‘SureShot White’
This pretty white petunia is an ornamental winner from All-American Selections. ‘SureShot White’ delivers resiliency and the ability to stand up to any shift in weather including changes in heat, cold, rain or sun. Lightly fragrant, these bright white petunias are pollinator magnets, too.
Petchoa ‘EnViva Pink’
This petchoa’s controlled, mounding habit earned it an All-American Selections ornamental award. With its neon pink petals, bright yellow center and iridescent shimmer, this flowering plant slays in the garden, offering hardiness, tolerance for heat and color that keeps delivering all summer long.
Pepper ‘Red Impact’
Popular in Spanish kitchens, the lamuyo pepper is high in potassium and low in sodium and has sweet, juicy flesh that makes it ideal for eating raw or cooked. Lamuyo peppers can be challenging to grow, but this ‘Red Impact’ variety was developed as a tastier, sweeter, higher yield and easier-to-grow variety of lamuyo.
Impatiens ‘Solarscape XL Pink Jewel’
Adaptable to full or partial sun gardens, these intense pink, satiny ‘Solarscape XL Pink Jewel’ impatiens have a mounding habit and vibrant tropical look when massed in beds or borders. Even better, they are disease-resistant, unlike other impatiens that can succumb to downy mildew.
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