WORTHINGTON -- A close relative recently called me with just one question on his mind: "What's the kind of plant that comes back year after year?"
Because I have some limited garden knowledge and a pretty good mastery of words, I was able to reply that the answer to his query was a perennial, as opposed to an annual, which dies in the fall and has to be replaced year after year. Since this particular relative is anticipating some landscaping as soon as the snow stops flying, I'm pretty sure he wanted to know what to ask for when it came time to buy plants.
Although I'm far from being a garden expert, if he'd hung on the phone a little longer, I could have relayed advice about what perennials have worked well in my own garden. In the years that I've been gardening -- a time period that happens to coincide with how long I've been a homeowner -- I've learned that it's good to share and seek advice about what plants are apt to perform best.
It's just prudent, before purchasing planting materials, to do some research on what kind of conditions a particular plant likes -- sun, shade, partial sun --its soil preferences, watering needs and hardiness zone. (We're in Zone 4, by the way.) The reality is, not all plants are going to do well in our northern clime, and not all plants available in area garden centers are suited to our climate.
A lot of the pertinent information can be found just by reading the markers found right on the plants in the garden center. But there are some other resources out there, too, that can be helpful.
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Selections winners list. All-American Selections (AAS) was founded in the 1930s as a way for home gardeners to learn which new plant varieties are truly improved. Trial grounds are set up throughout North American climates where flower and vegetable varieties are grown and assessed by skilled, impartial judges. The seed trials accept only new, previously unsold varieties.
Each year since 1933, the AAS winners have been announced in September. AAS does not advertise the AAS winners, relying on a public relations program to inform gardeners. Consumer magazines, newspapers, garden club bulletins and cooperative extension agents are used to
winners to home gardeners. AAS is the oldest, most established international gardening testing organization in North America. The list of the recent AAS winners in the categories of flowers, bedding plants, cool season bedding plants and vegetables includes many names that will be familiar to northern gardeners, and these proven varieties will be something to look for in years to come in area garden centers. If my memory is correct, I already grew one of the listed varieties -- Dianthus Supra Purple -- last year, and loved the feathery trait of the flowers.
