Re: Terrific Story & Photo Opportunity

**R* M* N* M* <r*@comcast.net>**

Just a quick comment. We at at Nichols Garden Nursery have an AAS display
garden. We are one of many around North America. Here you'll find winners
from the past three years and a preview of what is coming up for the next
season. Sharp eyed home gardeners and garden writers are out there all
summer scoping out the performance of these varieties. I think you can go to
the AAS website and find one of these demonstration gardens near you and
judge the local performance for yourself. Over the years, I've really come
to respect the reliability of most of these winners. They aren't the last
word on what is good to grow but many gardeners are losing confidence in
growing from seed and I think the AAS program helps them.
Rose Marie Nichols McGee
> From: Duane Campbell <dcamp911@juno.com>
> Reply-To: Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum
> <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2004 21:52:10 -0400
> To: gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
> Cc: gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
> Subject: Re: [GWL] Terrific Story & Photo Opportunity
> 
> 
> On Tue, 3 Aug 2004 19:28:48 -0500 "Doreen Howard"
> <gardendiva@charter.net> writes:
>> Today, Nona Koivula, Executive Director of Al-America Selections, and
>> her
>> staff visited Rotary Gardens in Janesville, WI to see 165 AAS
>> winners from
>> 1933 to 2005. 
> 
> Presumably the now almost forgotten First Lady marigold is there. Put
> that up against Inca in a home garden and there is little contest. But
> sadly, Inca blooms earlier in the pack.
> 
> I have serious concerns about AAS selections. I seldom write about them,
> never in the year of introduction. And I absolutely hate those spring
> magazines that feature multi-page articles on new introductions which are
> essentially copied from the PR releases of seed companies. It's like the
> NYT writing news articles from the daily Democrat talking points fax.
> 
> My first problem with AAS is that I write about what I know. When the new
> products hit the market, I know nothing about them except what their
> promoters say. I don't always trust that. Maybe there are garden writers
> that get test samples to try in real garden situations before release,
> but I am not in that exaulted crowd.
> 
> But here is my real concern, one that I have taken up with local Master
> Gardeners who are awed by the AAS designation. In order to qualify as an
> AAS, a variety must perform at least moderately well across the country,
> from San Diego, California, to Grande Isle, Maine. A variety that does
> well in a wide range of climates is not necessarily the best variety for
> your particular area. That is where local or regional garden writers,
> particularly those with dirty hands, are important.
> 
> I have trialed, once they come on the market, a number of AAS winners,
> and many have done well for me. Some are keepers. But just between you
> and me, I'm not going to take their word for it.
> 
> D
> 
> I am Duane Campbell and I approve this message.
> 
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