When I was the Director of Horticulture at Rotary Botanical Gardens (Janesville, WI), we enjoyed our relationship with All-America Selections (AAS) and we were always proud to display a wide range of award-winning plants with a heavy focus on the annuals. The beauty and performance of these winners was matched by the enthusiasm of our visitors who enjoyed seeing such wonderful color and texture in the garden. We created displays of historic AAS Winners three separate times, always to rave reviews! It was amazing to see how AAS Winners from 50-80 years ago have stood the test of time and continue to delight today.
Varieties of all sorts of plants come and go every year due to breeding improvements, new introductions, crop failures, and changes in consumer preferences. The fact that many AAS winners are still available is a testament not only to their breeding but also to their popularity with gardeners for so many years.
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