Market buzz

All-America Selections announces first six AAS winners for 2015

Downers Grove, Ill. –  All-America Selections (AAS) has announced the first of the AAS Winners for the 2015 gardening season. The July announcement introduces four Regional Winners and two National Winners, all of which are vegetables, reflecting the continued interest of consumers in edible gardens.

These six AAS Winners were trialed during the 2012 and 2013 growing seasons next to two other similar varieties that are currently on the market. The AAS Judges grew the entries and comparisons then did a side-by-side analysis of growth habit, taste, disease resistance and more to determine if these were truly better than those already available to home gardeners. Only those vegetables with superior taste and garden performance are given the AAS stamp of approval.

With this announcement, these varieties become available for immediate sale. Brokers and growers can purchase these varieties immediately. Consumers will find this seed for sale in the coming months as supply becomes available with catalog companies, in seed packets, from mail order companies and various websites. AAS Winners will also be available as young plants in lawn and garden retail stores next spring, in time for the 2015 gardening season.

For more, http://all-americaselections.org/trial_grounds/index.cfm

AmericanHort makes big announcements during Cultivate’14

After a jam-packed, exciting day of visiting vegetable, ornamental and nursery growers and garden centers on Saturday, the trade show floors at Cultivate’14 officially opened on Sunday, July 13 for a year of firsts: The first time the revamped organization now known as AmericanHort has put on Cultivate’14, the trade show formerly known as OFA Short Course, and the first time retailers had a space dedicated to products that serve their market. AmericanHort kicked off the morning with a few big announcements.

AmericanHort has pledged up to $100,000 to the Horticultural Research Institute for industry research. The organization will donate half of it and work to raise money through its membership and other sources to match the other portion. AmericanHort will also partner with the Columbus College of Art and Design’s MindMarket to help reshape customer experience at the retail level. The goal of the yearlong initiative is to discover how the horticultural industry can make its products and services more wanted and more valuable.

For more from Cultivate’14 and to see photos from the show, turn to page 93.

View videos from the event at www.gardencentermag.com/media

Darwin Perennials acquires perennial production location from Aris Horticulture

Darwin Perennials, a division of Ball Horticultural Company, recently announced the purchase of the perennial unrooted cutting production facility, Green Leaf Plants Colombia or Flores del Amanecer (FDA), from Aris Horticulture Inc.

FDA is located in Bogota, Colombia, and is a supplier of high-quality unrooted cutting and tissue-culture propagated perennials and cutflower varieties. This acquisition will strengthen Darwin Perennials’ supply chain into the North American market.

In a recent decision, effective Aug. 1, 2014, Aris Horticulture will cease its distribution activity, Aris Horticultural Services (AHS) in Barberton, Ohio, to focus on its Green Leaf Plants perennial young plant supply program out of Lancaster, Pa. AHS orders booked for delivery on or after Aug. 1 will be serviced by Ball Seed Company.  

Green Leaf Plants young plant sales will continue through multiple distributors, including the Blooms of Bressingham and Darwin Perennials programs and other leading perennial varieties on the market. In addition, Aris will continue to operate its Keepsake Plants premium finished program of azaleas, tropical hibiscus, and other premium potted plants.

For more, www.darwinperennials.com and www.glplants.com.

National Garden Bureau announces Growing For Futures campaign

CHICAGO – The National Garden Bureau (NGB) has launched the first-of-its-kind “Growing for Futures” (#growingforfutures) philanthropic program to build therapeutic gardens across the country. This ongoing annual fundraising initiative is designed to cultivate horticulture careers and life skills, while also growing plants, vegetables, herbs and fruit for partnering organizations and communities. 

This year, the NGB, a Downers Grove, Ill.-based, non-profit organization, has chosen the Growing Solutions Farm in Chicago as the first beneficiary of its annual fundraising effort. Growing Solutions Farm is a vocational program of the Julie + Michael Tracy Family Foundation/Urban Autism Solutions (JMTF), which serves, educates and trains young adults with autism. NGB’s goal is to raise $50,000 in cash and supplies to help support the continued growth of this innovative garden project.  

The Growing Solutions Farm is located in Chicago’s Illinois Medical District, at W. Campbell Park Drive and S. Leavitt Street. This one-acre urban garden oasis is a nurturing environment where young adults with autism work together with an urban farmer, vocational coach, teachers, volunteers and agency staff to develop skills that can lead to career opportunities in the agriculture, horticulture, food processing and distribution industries.

“The National Garden Bureau was so deeply inspired by the Growing Solutions Farm that we’ve jumped in to help raise funds to make it a reality through our ‘Growing for Futures’ program,” said Diane Blazek, executive director of the NGB. “We’re also pleased that, although it’s not yet completed, this Chicago therapeutic garden is already servicing groups, including Easter Seals and Chicago Public Schools.”

This summer, up to 20 young adults will work at the Growing Solutions Farm, learning to grow and care for plants, as well as gain practical skills in harvesting and cooking the produce that’s grown. These skills teach work ethics and processes, along with the necessary mechanics for independent living.

The farm currently has 28 raised garden beds, 48 Earth Boxes and 50 Smart Pots, featuring a variety of vegetables and herbs. Plans are to further develop the farm to include hoop and greenhouses, drip irrigation systems, a berry patch, fruit trees, native plant border and other produce.

“This therapy garden not only will provide teachable moments and memorable achievements for the participants, it will offer monthly cooking classes for autistic adults and a pop-up farmers’ market to sell produce in the Illinois Medical District,” said Julie Tracy, President, Julie + Michael Tracy Family Foundation/Urban Autism Solutions. “We believe the garden’s hard-working, enthusiastic and appreciative young adults will be an inspiration to the community.”

The National Garden Bureau will use a three-phase fundraising plan via Indiegogo to raise $30,000 in cash to support the Growing Solutions Farm. In an innovative twist, each donor contribution will translate into a tangible item needed by the garden.

For example, a $10 donation will purchase a watering nozzle and a $25 donation will buy 50-feet of watering hose and so on. The NGB also hopes to garner another $20,000 through donated supplies from horticulture businesses.

For more, www.ngb.org 

A dozen students receive Sidney B. Meadows scholarships

The Sidney B. Meadows Scholarship Fund has announced the names of 12 students from eight southeastern universities chosen to receive academic scholarships this year. The presentations took place July 23, during Southern Nursery Association’s SNA 2014 in Atlanta. The $1,500 awards, totaling $18,000, were presented to:

• Paul C. Bartley III, Auburn University
• Jeb S. Fields, Virginia Tech
• Russell Galanti, Temple University
• Lauren Marie Garcia, Texas A&M University
• Lauren Alexandra Gragg, North Carolina State University
• Judson Stuart LeCompte, Mississippi State University, Awarded the Lee C. Howell Scholarship
• Robert Michael Nance, Virginia Tech, Awarded the Art & Millie Lancaster Scholarship
• Anna Eleen Ribbeck, Louisiana State University, Awarded the Dr. James & Faye Foret Scholarship
• David Roberts, North Carolina State University
• James Franklin Rockwell II, Virginia Tech
• Kevin Trostel, Middle Tennessee State University
• Dillon William Turk, Auburn University, Awarded the Robert L. VanLandingham Scholarship