The five best new plant varieties for 2014 have won 2014 Green Thumb Awards presented by the Direct Gardening Association (formerly called the Mailorder Gardening Association). Honored in the Plants, Bulbs and Seeds division were Clematis ‘Sweet Summer Love’ PPAF, CBRAF from Spring Meadow Nursery, Vaccimium Complex Hybrid ‘Blueberry GlazeTM’ from Fall Creek Farm & Nursery, ‘Habitat Hero’ Birdwatcher Pre-Planned Garden from High Country Gardens, Bloomerang® Dark Purple Lilac PPAF, CBRAF from Spring Meadow Nursery, and Baptisia ‘Blue Towers’ PPAF from Plant Delights Nursery, Inc.
Winners of the 2014 Green Thumb Awards were chosen by an independent panel of garden writers and editors. The winning products were selected based on their uniqueness, technological innovation, ability to solve a gardening problem or provide a gardening opportunity, and potential appeal to gardeners.
The Green Thumb Awards recognizes outstanding new garden products available by mail or online. The awards are sponsored by the Direct Gardening Association (DGA), the world’s largest nonprofit association of companies that sell garden products directly to consumers via catalogs and websites. For more information visit www.directgardeningassociation.com.
2014 Green Thumb Award Winners
~ Plants, Bulbs and Seeds ~
Clematis ‘Sweet Summer Love’ PPAF, CBRAF
Spring Meadow Nursery
It’s an even sweeter Sweet Autumn Clematis! ‘Sweet Summer Love’ has the easy growth and sweet fragrance you want, plus amazing flowers that start blooming over a month earlier than other varieties. The cranberryviolet blooms flower well into fall. The vines climbing 10+’, is hardy to USDA Zone 4, and can be placed in full sun or part shade. You can purchase ‘Sweet Summer Love’ for $28.99 for an 8” pot or $19.99 for a quart from Garden Crossings, (616)875-6355 or www.gardencrossings.com.
Vaccimium Complex Hybrid ‘Blueberry GlazeTM’
Fall Creek Farm & Nursery
Unlike any blueberry variety today, Blueberry GlazeTM has a small stature and dark green glossy leaves. It’s reminiscent of a boxwood and can be sheared as such. The small black-colored ripe berries are full of flavor and pack an antioxidant-rich punch of health benefits. Perfect in patio pots or the ornamental landscape, Blueberry GlazeTM brings delicious, healthful blueberries within close reach for easy picking! The berries are hardy in Zones 5-8,
and are available in Spring of 2014 for $34.95 from Fall Creek Farm & Nursery, 1-800-538-3001, www.brazelberries.com
‘Habitat Hero’ Birdwatcher Pre-Planned Garden
High Country Gardens
The ‘Habitat Hero’ Birdwatcher Pre-Planned Garden will delight gardeners who enjoy watching birds feed and flit from plant to plant. Carefully selected, this collection of plants will draw and benefit both songbirds and hummingbirds, as well as butterflies and other insect pollinators. The garden was created by renowned garden designer Lauren Springer Ogden, in collaboration with High Country Gardens’ chief horticulturalist David Salman. Designed specifically for the Rockies, but well-suited for many climates, the garden is a mix of perennials, shrubs and ornamental grasses. It includes 15 plants in premium 5” pots and fits a 7’ x 12’ area. The garden is hardy in Zones 5 – 8 and is available for $129.85 from High Country Gardens, 800-925-9387, www.highcountrygardens.com.
The ‘Habitat Hero’ Birdwatcher Pre-Planned Garden was created through a collaboration of Be A
Habitat Hero (a project of Audubon Rockies), Plant Select® and High Country Gardens®.
Bloomerang® Dark Purple Lilac PPAF, CBRAF
Spring Meadow Nursery
Bloomerang® Dark Purple is larger than the original Bloomerang®, and has longer, more rounded dark purple inflorescences. It is an excellent grower. Fragrant lilac flowers appear at the typical time in spring, then after a brief rest during the heat of the summer the plant blooms again. It will flower until frost! 4 – 6’ tall and wide. Hardy to USDA Zone 3, Bloomerang® Dark Purple Lilac sells for $29.99 for an 8” pot from Garden Crossings, (616)875-6355 or www.gardencrossings.com.
Baptisia ‘Blue Towers’ PPAF
Plant Delights Nursery
Baptisia ‘Blue Towers’ PPAF, which will be available for sale in January 2014 for shipment starting the following month, is a 2004 Plant Delights seedling; the blue-lavender half of their Twin Towers series (‘Ivory Towers’ will follow). It is a very sturdy upright selection featuring two native US species, Baptisia australis and Baptisia alba, as parents. Baptisia ‘Blue Towers’ tops out at 4.5’ tall with huge flower spikes of large blue-purple blooms in late April (in North Carolina) that have good separation above the glaucous foliage. Baptisia ‘Blue Towers’ has tall sturdy stalks that hold the foliage well off the ground so it doesn’t choke out plants growing nearby. As with all baptisias, Baptisia ‘Blue Towers’ has amazing drought tolerance that rivals many cacti. The plant is hardy in most of the US, from Zones 3 – 8, and can be purchased for $13.00 in a 1 qt (24 fl.oz.) pot from Plant Delights Nursery, (919)772-4794, www.plantdelights.com
Source: Direct Gardening Association
