After having a nice two week vacation in the tropics (Tropical Garden, that is) I headed north. I stopped in the All-America Selections garden, near NATO Bridge. Last spring this area was filled with flowering tulips, but now some winners of the All-America Selections are commanding the space.
The All-America Selections is a long running trial program that evaluates plants for quality and reliable performance. Norfolk Botanical Garden is a formal display garden for the organization (one of only five in Virginia), showcasing trial winners. I am hoping my appearance here 
will help people to understand that I am also a quality and reliable plant worth having in the garden.
Usually the garden staff plants the flower and bedding plant winners, but this year they included quite a few vegetables and it has made for a very interesting display. Pumpkins next to peppers next to zinnias next to cockscomb have created a beautiful and tasty tapestry.
If you are a fan of peppers there are plenty of choices. The Black Pearl is an ornamental type with shiny round black beads perched atop stygian leaves. Another pepper is the Chilly Chili. In contrast to the dark Black Pearl, this is a cheery yellow right now, but will later turn to orange and then red as it ages. They are often grown as an ornamental because of their abundant fruiting, but can actually be eaten and have almost no “heat.” The Mariachi pepper is a chili pepper that will be bright red when ripe, but the gardeners also harvest it now, when it is a creamy yellow and the flavor is wonderfully mild.
Another vegetable that blurs the line between an ornamental plant and good eats is the eggplant. Two types are found here – Hansel and Gretel. Compared to a more traditional eggplant, the Hansel produces smaller finger-shaped clusters of the dark fruit. Gretel is even more interesting with clusters of long white fruit. Of course the garden boasts some other edible members of the nightshade family – the ever popular tomato. The Jolly Hybrid is a peach-shaped tomato that is still green but the small pointed ovals of Sugary are turning red. The abundant clusters signal a bumper crop as usual.
Flowers are not neglected in this garden however. Feathery cockscomb fills various nooks in the planting bed and a variety of zinnias are on display. One of my favorites is the Zowie! Yellow Flame cultivar. A winner from a couple of years ago, this bi-color 
zinnia has a dark rose center flaming out to yellow edges. Two types of vinca create a bright carpet of flowers under the crape myrtles. The First Kiss Blueberry is billed as blue-flowering type, but it is really more of a violet color. The Pacifica Burgandy Halo is a deep rose flower with a white eye. The combination of the two is quite nice.
For the sharp-eyed visitor, they may get a glimpse of the “Yellow Sun” dandelion. Although not an official AAS winner, I am a cherry bright yellow, very hardy and a reliable performer every year. So come join me and all the other garden champions in the AAS Garden. Just don’t tell any of the gardeners I crashed the victory party.
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