Every gardener wants to have a stunning, vibrant home garden that wow’s visitors and passersby alike. For most, striving for a garden like the one described quickly becomes out of reach, even after devoting hours upon hours to caring for each plant and flower, the soil, and surroundings. At Eden Brothers, we are always looking for new ways to offer our customers the best quality product, which is why we currently offer 35 varieties of flowers that are AAS award winners.
What is the AAS?
The AAS, or All-American Selections, is an organization created to put different varieties of flowers and edibles through rigorous testing in order to determine which are the best of the best for garden performance. The AAS utilizes a vast network of judges, all of which are experts in the horticulture and gardening community, to put these varieties through a series of tests upon which they are judged.
Some qualities the judges look for include:
- -earliness to bloom/harvest
- -disease & pest tolerance
- -colors/flavors
- -length of flowering/harvest
With judges spread through the United States and Canada, each AAS entry is transplanted into a Trial Ground that the judge will then measure the above qualities verses comparable varieties. As the judges monitor growth through the season, they score each AAS entry on a scale of 0 to 5. Thanks in part to this thorough testing process, the AAS’ tagline of “Tested Nationally and Proven Locally” can be confidently applied to each winner. In addition, every AAS winner is bred naturally, without the aid of genetic engineering (GMO.)
Check out some of the most stunning AAS winners that Eden Brothers carries in seed form below!
French Marigold, Queen Sophia
The Queen Sophia variety of French Marigolds took home its All-American Selection’s award in 1979 and has been producing stunning double blossoms bursting with deep reds and delicate golds for gardeners around the country ever since. Like all other marigolds, the Queen Sophia requires full sun and will often grow to nearly a foot tall with the proper spacing and watering. This AAS winner is very versatile in gardens, as it can be used as a showcase flower, in pots as an ornamental, as a pollinator attractant, and even as a pest repellant in vegetable gardens. Add the Queen Sophia French Marigold to your garden by visiting our Shop page and adding them to your cart.
Morning Glory, Scarlett Ohara
If you have a need for a fast-growing vine, perhaps to provide a privacy barrier or to fill in bare spaces along the border of your garden, look no further than the Scarlett Ohara variety of Morning Glory. Each vine on this variety of morning glory will grow out to approximately 8 to 10 feet, providing a thick cover of bright green foliage. Its small, yet attractive red flowers provide a pleasant “pop” of color as the vine begins to bloom. Grab your Scarlett Ohara seeds here!
Zinnia, Old Mexico
One of the most colorful varieties of Zinnia, Old Mexico zinnia is a compact flower that is robust with mahogany red, yellow, and gold colors packing into each blossom. They tend to only grow to a height of approximately 18 inches, making them an ideal candidate for border planting or containers. Zinnia’s popularity as a cut flower makes the Old Mexico variety an excellent choice for your garden, as its rich “fall-inspired” colors look perfect inside a vase in your home.
Sweet Alyssum, Royal Carpet
There is ground cover, and then there is Sweet Alyssum. Planting the Royal Carpet variety of Sweet Alyssum will provide your garden with a sweet smelling, almost year-round blooming carpet of regal purples, with white and pink blossoms mixed throughout. Most varieties of the Sweet Alyssum, including the Royal Carpet, are cool-season annuals that can be sown from seed a few weeks prior to the last frost. What better way to welcome springtime to your home garden than with a burst of color from the Royal Carpet variety of Sweet Alyssum?!
Hollyhock, Summer Carnival
You want big, booming blooms in your garden? Look no further than the Summer Carnival Hollyhock. This AAS winner produces big, beautiful blooms of pinks, yellows, and reds, and in just 4 months’ time from seed! Be sure to leave plenty of room in your garden for each Summer Carnival variety, as these flowers can grow up to 5 to 6 feet in height, and almost 3 feet around. A prolific summertime bloomer, the colors continue to flourish despite the strong sunlight that often causes other flowers to dull. Load up on Summer Carnival Hollyhock seeds for next springtime here!