Franklin Park Conservatory's Botanical Gardens has completed the inaugural year of the Annual and Perennial Trials Program. Breeders of new plant varieties from around the world send Franklin Park Conservatory the newest annual and perennial varieties to be evaluated to find those that perform best in Central Ohio.
The trial gardens were designed to feel, not like typical research plots, but like a secret garden oasis filled with season long color and interest. Adjacent to the gardens is a rental patio space, available for smaller outdoor gatherings. The gardens are open daily and located just north of the conservatory and the historic Carriage Path.
Creation of this new garden space was made possible through support from the Joseph A. Jeffrey Fund and the Little Garden Club.
We highly encourage you to visit the trial gardens, not only to learn about new plant varieties, but to be inspired!About the Evaluations
Annuals are evaluated every three weeks throughout the growing season for vegetative quality, flowering performance, flower number, disease/pest susceptibility, and overall presentation. Photographs are also taken.
Perennials are evaluated over a three-year time period. Each variety is evaluated for flower number and flower duration weekly while vegetative quality, disease/pest susceptibility, and overall presentation are evaluated monthly. In early April, in each of the subsequent three years, entries are evaluated for winter hardiness.
Both the annual & perennial evaluations are based on a 1-5 rating scale, with 1 being poor, and 5 being excellent. Annual results are posted yearly as well as provisional perennial results. Final data on perennial varieties will be posted after trial year three. Trial results are sent participating growers and published on our website.How You Can be Involved!
All consumer evaluations have been completed for 2009, please check back in the spring for the 2010 evaluation schedule.
2009 Annual Trials Results
Consumers’ Choice” top picks
The full copy of the 2009 Annual Trials Report is available. Click here to download the file, formatted as a Word document.
Preliminary updates on our Perennials Trial will be available online in spring 2010.
PARTICIPANTS
Goldsmith Seeds
Ball Hort
Dummen
Benary of America Inc.
Sakata Seed
Biodecor
DS Cole Growers
Blooms of Bressingham
We also want to recognize the following companies for helping us establish the trial gardens by donating materials/ time and greenhouse space:
Wilson's Greenhouse
Dill's Greenhouse
Bakers Acres
Wilsons Turf
