Plants, Bulbs and Seeds
2009 MGA Green Thumb Award Winners
January 9, 2009
courtesy Mailorder Gardening Association
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'Cherry Brandy' is a red-flowered Rudbeckia from Thompson & Morgan.
courtesy Thompson & Morgan/Mailorder Gardening Association
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Six new plant varieties and five new gardening products have won 2009 MGA Green Thumb Awards presented by the Mailorder Gardening Association.
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Winners of the 2009 MGA 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.
Since 1998, the MGA Green Thumb Awards have recognized the best new plants and gardening products available each year from gardening catalogs and Web sites. The awards are sponsored by the Mailorder Gardening Association, the world’s largest nonprofit association of companies that sell garden products directly to consumers. For more information visit the MGA website.
Rudbeckia x hirta ‘Cherry Brandy’ from Thompson & Morgan
‘Cherry Brandy’ is the world’s first red-flowered Rudbeckia from seed. ‘Cherry Brandy’ produces robust, bushy plants that will create dramatic impact in the border, in large containers or as a cut flower with its rich 3- to 4-inch cherry-red blooms.
This outstanding garden performer will produce a mass of stems, each enhanced by a single stunning blossom. ‘Cherry Brandy’ will reach 24 inches tall by 12 inches wide. A packet of 50 seeds sells for $3.50 exclusively from Thompson & Morgan, (800) 274-7333.
Begonia x tuberhybrida ‘Scentsation Mixed’ F1 Hybrid from Thompson & Morgan
‘Scentsation Mixed’ is the world’s first scented begonia from seed. A sowing of seed from January to March in warm, bright conditions will produce loads of exquisite double to semi-double pastel blooms from summer to the first frosts of autumn.
The long blooming season allows gardeners plenty of time to enjoy the delicious medley of fragrances that range from fresh citrus-lemon to indulgent soft rose. Plants reach 20 inches tall and 11 to 15 inches wide. A packet of 50 seeds sells for $4.50 exclusively from Thompson & Morgan.
Bonbini Lily from Dutch Gardens
Bonbini is the first Oriental Trumpet lily to have a candle flame in the center of the flower. Bonbini Lily produces large soft yellow fragrant flowers in mid-summer that measure up to 8 inches across. The center of each petal contains a red candle flame that is a deeper golden yellow color in the center.