Spring Trials Day 5: Plants take center stage

We headed through the hills to arrive at our first destination for Day 5 of the California Spring Trials — Syngenta Flowers. We could sense the "buzz" from the moment we walked into the greenhouse and saw bee-themed decor and a live bee colony, a sign of the company's emphasis on pollinator-friendly plants this year. Throughout the stop, Syngenta simplified the information about varieties, research and concepts for industry members by displaying double-sided signs that honed in on particular areas of interest. For example, one side might have grower-specific production information, while the other might show charts and statistics from the latest research. Speaking of research, we spoke with Alicain Carlson about the work being done with the photoperiod of petunias. See "Lighting a path" for more.

We were propelled into the world of fashion at the second stop of the day, Benary, where models showed off new varieties on a special plant-themed catwalk. The star of the show was a new begonia introduction, named ‘Funky’, which displayed its mixture of both double and single pink flowers. See the "Fresh and 'Funky'" video for more. The company transformed the greenhouse into an art museum, with sleek displays and plants atop pedestals. The art theme continued outside, dubbed "Art in the Park," with flower-inspired versions of well-known paintings by artists like Andy Warhol and Monet.

Much to our surprise, the last stop of the day was in Havana, Cuba — or at least that's the scene that Pacific Plug & Liner (PP&L) created for visitors. Several companies were exhibiting here, including PP&L, Hishtil, Cultivaris, Southern Living Plant Collection, Sunset Western Garden Collection, MPS and Jaldety. We got to sample a new strawberry from Pacific Plug & Liner called Bubble Berry, whose bubblegum-like fragrance was as sweet as its taste. Cultivaris' Josh Schneider gave us a mini tour of some of the plants he's most excited about, including new digitalis varieties and a standout pelargonium named Pinki Pinks from neighbor exhibitor Jaldety.

Stay tuned for coverage of our last day of California Spring Trials, when we'll be visiting Danziger and Proven Winners.

• A pop of flavor
• Fresh and 'funky'
• Lighting a path
• Southern favorites
• Certified sustainable
• Modernizing the dianthus