Downers Grove, Illinois – Voting for the 2010 The American Garden Awards is now open. AGA, sponsored by All-America Selections, is a unique opportunity for the general public as well as professional horticulturists to vote on a specific flower or plant that they think has the most appealing garden characteristics. Some of the world’s most prestigious flower breeders have chosen their best varieties to enter into this competition (varieties listed below). In cooperation with 18 highly respected public gardens throughout the United States, listed below, All-America Selections presents the four entries so garden visitors can view the plants in person, then vote for their favorite.
There are a number of ways to vote: by texting a given code to a polling number, by going to the website and clicking on the voting button, by using postage-paid voting postcards available at most gardens or by becoming a fan of American Garden Award on Facebook. For anyone who is unable to visit one of the 18 gardens, online voting is another way to “View and Vote!” All gardens will be planted by the first of June and voting is open until August 31. The winners will be announced in September.
The four entries are:
Echinacea ‘Prairie Splendor’; Ornamental Pepper ‘Purple Flash’; Rudbeckia ‘Denver Daisy’; and Zinnia Profusion ‘Knee-High Red.’
To purchase any of these flowers for your home garden, visit your local garden retailer.
The participating gardens are:
Birmingham Botanical Gardens; Boerner Botanical Gardens; Cantigny Gardens; Chicago Botanic Garden; Chicago Park District; Cole Gardens; Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Garden; Denver Botanic Gardens; Longwood Gardens; Massachusetts Horticultural Society; Missouri Botanical Garden; Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City; Oregon State Fairgrounds; Park Seed Co.; Pier 39 Inc.; Rotary Botanical Gardens; San Francisco Botanical Garden; and University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
The American Garden Award program is administered by the All-America Selections Display Garden program. AGA entries have not been trialed nor awarded a winner status by the AAS Trial Judges.
