Best Perennial in a Leading Role
Salvia guarantica 'Black & Blue'
The hummingbird's choice—this salvia is planted en masse in several gardens. She fits into any color scheme, performing all summer and into autumn before the frosty curtains fall.
Best Perennial in a Supporting Role
Creeping Perennial Heliotrope 'Azure Skies'
A carpet of blooms all summer long, she supports the taller perennials. A winner every year!
Best Makeup
Coreopsis 'Red Shift'
'Red Shift' changed her makeup on a daily basis. She looked just as stunning 'au naturale' with her pale yellow face as she did with dramatic red eyeshadow. For her grand finale, she went for a rosy red complexion.
Best Costume
Agastache 'Salmon and Pink'
With such versatile attire, this star wins again! She never wilts under the sunny spotlights—she is always fresh and neat through heat and humidity.
Best Visual Effects
Benary's Giant Zinnia
Sure to be an "annual event" in my garden. She poses perfectly for every shot.
Best Foreign Perennial
Iris ensata 'Mount Fujiyama'
This exotic flower, with her slender grace, wins again!
Best Script
Agastache 'Purple Haze', Echinacea 'Prairie Splendor', Monarda 'Raspberry Wine'
This plot is never boring!
Best Sound Effects
Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed)
Buzzing with honeybees and host to Monarch Butterflies—wonderful garden music.
Best Short Subject
Eupatorium coelestinum 'Wayside' (Hardy Ageratum)
The sea of ageratum creates waves along the garden path.
Best Cinematography
buddleia 'Adonis Blue', spirea 'Neon Flash', salvia gregii 'Dark Dancer' and purple iris ensata
We close the awards with a technicolor landscape scene.
All of these plants were grown in full sun, zone 7b in North Carolina. Here's a recap of the stellar performers in 2008.
What were the 2009 best performers in your garden?
Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks/copyrights/patents owned by those respective companies or persons.