Lynn Felici-Gallant

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"At the heart of the garden is a belief in the miraculous."
                                                                    —Mirabel Osler

Lantana ‘Luscious Grape’ photo courtesy of Proven Winners.

Japanese umbrella pine photo courtesy of Great Hill Horticultural Foundation.

Rosa ‘Mardi Gras’ photo courtesy of All-America Rose Selections.

Superbells ‘Scarlet’ photo courtesy of Proven Winners.

Geranium ‘Rozanne’ photo courtesy of perennialresource.com

Impatiens ‘Apple Blossom’ photo courtesy of Proven Winners.

I confess I have already been outside, scratching surreptitiously under crunchy soil for signs of life, for green amid the brown. No matter the snow or mud, or that the scraping portends months of dirty hands ahead; this is a miraculous time of year in the garden, and I don’t want to miss a moment.

For many gardeners, however, the excitement of spring is laced with a bit of anxiety. For it is just about this time that hundreds of new plants are ushered into our living rooms through enticing catalogs promoting the latest selections one, presumably, cannot live without. And though the avalanche of breathtaking botanical combinations is refreshing after a long winter, just how are we to make sense of it all?

Enter the plant trial and awards process. For those of us predisposed to overspending on plants, or for whom selecting among myriad varieties is excruciating, plant awards are an effective way to find new plants for the season. To be sure, not all awards honor new plant introductions, though many do. Some recognize stalwart plants that have persevered through challenging conditions consistently. Many of this year’s outstanding performers are featured at the sidebar.

Plant awards are a fairly objective measure of a plant’s appeal and performance, bestowed after rigorous research conducted by professional organizations or universities. And plant trials are the horticulture industry’s internal way to evaluate a plant’s potential.  Plants chosen as “Proven Winners,” for example, have a high flower quantity, are free-flowering, disease-resistant and easy to care for.

Pleasant View Gardens in Loudon, N.H., is one of only three wholesale nurseries in the country to grow Proven Winners plants for garden centers and retailers. Pleasant View tests 1,200 to 1,400 annuals every year to determine which will receive the PW imprimatur. The nursery also conducts its own trials in public gardens in Loudon, and sends plants to universities and other public gardens for viewer comment.

Horticulture organizations also use awards to highlight exceptional plants. Each year, the Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Mass., in conjunction with the Worcester Horticultural Society, Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and New England Nursery Association, announces the “Cary Award for Distinctive Plants for New England.” The award honors unique or underused trees and shrubs that perform well in New England, and is among the most prestigious woody plant honors in the country.

The Great Hill Horticultural Foundation of Hampton Falls tests its own collection of trees and shrubs in New Hampshire. The foundation is a non-profit organization created by Paul and Sandra Montrone dedicated to research and education about tree and shrub hardiness and performance. Great Hill encourages gardeners to design with unique plant varieties and promotes woody plants with superior beauty and endurance. Great Hill plants are available to homeowners through landscapers and Foundation members.

Among my favorites of this year’s top plants is the 2008 Perennial  of the Year, Geranium ‘Rozanne.’ The Perennial Plant of the Year is chosen by members of the Perennial Plant Association, a national coalition of horticulturalists, educators, growers, designers and gardeners. The winner  must be suitable for a wide range of climate conditions—including harsh New England winters. It must be low-maintenance, pest and disease-resistant, readily available in the year of release and have multiple seasons of ornamental interest. 

Geranium ‘Rozanne’ is a staple in my garden. Like the awareness that winter inevitably begets spring, there is something supremely comforting in growing a plant that performs faithfully month after month, year after year. 

‘Rozanne’ is a garden friend, dependable and loyal. Quarter-sized violet-blue flowers with soft white centers blanket the plant from June through (and often past) frost. Deep green, slightly marbled foliage transforms into reddish-brown leaves with darker blue flowers in autumn, and—like another garden favorite of mine, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (Plumbago)—the combination of sapphire flowers against crimson foliage is stunning.

Geranium ‘Rozanne’ is as comfortable weaving through plants in containers as it is in front of a mixed border, where it sits along a path in my garden. Hardy to Zone 5, ‘Rozanne’ reaches 18 to 20 inches tall and 36 inches wide in partial shade and average, well-drained soil (too much moisture renders the plant a bit leggy). ‘Rozanne’ is low-maintenance, disease-free and attracts butterflies; it is a deserving recipient of the Perennial of the Year award.

Though awards and plant trials can guide decisions among thousands of choices, they may not, in themselves, denote the best ornamental plants for your garden. Many of your favorite trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals or roses may never receive an accolade, but are nonetheless simply beautiful plants worth growing.

To be sure, the trial and awards process is a beneficial tool for evaluating the often overwhelming collection of plant introductions and vigorously promoted varieties.

But I believe that gardening is an exercise in hope and adventure–born of a promise spring is bound to keep, and rife in often equal measure with frustration, satisfaction, success and failure. For the rich, immeasurable rewards they confer, may you experience each this season.