Banish the Garden Blahs—Visit a Trial Garden

If you're like me, you head off to the garden centre on the big planting weekend of the season, circle the lot to find (a) parking spot, then (b) shopping cart and finally (c) enough personal space so you can make your decision on how to transform those basic clay pots you've got waiting at home into something fabulous.

Sometimes, it all works out well. However, on many other occasions, what you thought would be dynamite turns out to be rather bland. This doesn't have to be your fate, there is great information out there at trial gardens around the country, just waiting for you to visit and learn.

The best part about visiting these gardens close to home is that you can pretty well guarantee (providing you do your watering) that you too can have success - because the conditions in the trial garden are similar to yours at home.

And, for those of us who are pressed for time, just Google your way to the nearest trial garden website to see photographs and month by month performance of these new garden treasures. I've provided a list of trial gardens in the U.S. in the link list.

Universities often have great sites like this one from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. University of Guelph Trial Garden

Proven Winners® has introduced many terrific new plant introductions. Visit their beautiful and informative website.

Pictured here are some of the wonderful selections that I saw when I was in British Columbia, Canada. What I couldn't get over, was that many of these plants looked even better in person than they did on-line or in the catalogs. It was also a good double-check for me to see what their growth habit and flower color looked like - something that can be dicey when you're looking at shots in the Saturday newspaper.

Another advantage of visiting a trial garden is seeing the plants both potted up and growing in the ground. In many cases, the plant's performance is quite different - it may look taller, have more or less flowers.

Also, it's really helpful to see how different plants look growing together. While, it's always great to be able to grab a plant from one section of the garden center to match it to another, the thought of doing so when there isn't room to move is just appalling. Instead, armed with my notes, my garden shopping has become completely streamlined and yours can too!

Just remember, don't settle for bland. Do your trial garden research and you'll be able to delight in the beauty of plants that will thrive in your garden all season long.