NGB announces 2023 Green Thumb Award Winners

National Garden Bureau, a 102-year-old non-profit organization that promotes gardening on behalf of the horticulture industry, is proud to announce six live goods and two hard goods as winners of the 2023 Green Thumb Award.

Winners of the 2022 Green Thumb Awards were chosen based on these four criteria: uniqueness, technological innovation, ability to solve a gardening problem or provide a gardening opportunity, and appeal to gardeners. Winners were selected by a panel of National Garden Bureau members.

The Green Thumb Awards program was created in 1998 to recognize the most innovative new plants and gardening products available each year.

2023 Green Thumb Award Winners

Flowering Shrub: Rose Eau De Parfum Bubbly

This rose series delivers big, delightfully fragrant blooms with a high petal count that provide the classic romance of roses with the added benefit of disease resistance brought to you by modern breeding. Bubbly features champagne-colored blooms that form a lovely bud, then slowly unfurl to its full glory. The lush foliage makes these excellent shrubs in the garden. Blooms repeatedly from early spring until the first frost. This rose series is hardy to USDA zone 5, grows to 3-4 feet tall and is from Monrovia Nursery.

Perennial: Astilbe Dark Side of the Moon

A new instant classic for the landscape! Dark Side of the Moon astilbe is the only dark leafed Astilbe with purple flowers currently on the market. Rich, deep chocolate burgundy leaves form an incredibly attractive 18-24-inch mound of foliage. Emerging leaves are yellow with a dark margin and a glossy sheen that becomes completely dark as they age. Dark stems hold raspberry buds that burst forth with rosy, purple flowers. This astilbe is hardy in USDA zones 4-9 and is from Walters Gardens.

Annual: Colocasia esculenta Royal Hawaiian Waikiki

(a tie resulted in two winners):

Veteran plant pros and new gardeners alike are talking about the exciting new colors on this Colocasia! Royal Hawaiian Waikiki offers glossy green foliage with flamboyant white and flamingo pink veining and is bred to be happy in full sun. Disease resistance and a compact, clumping habit — 3 feet tall and wide — is ideal for patio containers, poolside plantings and color-packed garden beds. This plant was entered by Plant Haven International and is available from several sources. This Colocasia is also a 2023 All-America Selections National Winner making it a dual award winner!

Annual: Starflower Paper Moon

The novelty of this annual is what makes it a winner in the 2023 Green Thumb Award. Small, pale blue blossoms on wiry stems transform into highly decorative, bronze-colored geometric and globe-shaped seed heads. Plants are grown primarily for the papery seed pods, which are useful for both fresh and dried bouquets. This variety is from Sahin/Takii EU. Plants grow 2-3 feet tall and attract beneficial insects.  

Edible: Tomato Sun Dipper

Sun Dipper’s unique elongated fruit can be held between your fingers for easy use with dips and sauces. No more accidental finger-dips in the ranch sauce! The orange flesh fruit looks great on a vegetable platter and tastes delicious. Plants are indeterminate and have great resistance to in-ground diseases, so you’ll harvest trusses of Sun Dipper tomatoes until the frost. This variety was developed by Pan American Seed.

Houseplant: Tradescantia Pistachio White

A breeding breakthrough from Green Fuse Botanicals allows this all-new tradescantia to maintain heavy white variegation while still supporting vigorous growth. An excellent selection for small pots as well as hanging baskets. Pistachio White also makes an eye-popping item for combination plantings. Bonus: Bring it indoors for fantastic performance as a house plant in winter months! Pistachio White grows to only 12” tall but can get up to 18-24” wide. For warmer climates, this plant is hardy to zone 8a when left outdoors.

Garden Products (a tie resulted in two winners):

TruDrop Flex

This self-watering planter from Crescent Garden provides phenomenal results, helping to make successful gardening accessible to everyone. The innovative insert can be removed from its 10-year warranty shell easily, so you can change the style, change the plants and maintain your plants. The outer shell serves as a great water reservoir that allows it to go weeks without watering, delivering phenomenal results by watering through the roots, while at the same time saving water and fertilizer usage for a truly sustainable container garden. It can be used indoors or out. 

The Dibby XL Dual-Purpose Gardening Tool

No more sowing seeds with pencils, sticks, spoons, chopsticks etc.! The Dibby XL helps any gardener of any skill level consistently plant vegetable and flower seeds at the correct depth for good germination. This means more plants with less time and less effort. Also, thinning and transplanting seedlings just got easier. Other tools are hard to maneuver around tender seedlings, and none of them gently cup a seedling by its roots. The Dibby XL helps easily transplant and thin seedlings giving them more room to develop. Made in the USA, the Dibby XL is available from Spoken Garden.  

If you would like more information about the Green Thumb Awards program or membership in National Garden Bureau, please contact NGB Executive Director Diane Blazek or send an email to info@ngb.org or phone 630-963-0770.