Pre-Trial Arrival

On Friday, March 25, Tim Runte (the annual and perennial flower buyer) and I (Kimberly Bird, the garden retail marketer) set out on a voyage of exploration and discovery.

Typically I come to California to visit my Dad.  He works for JPL (Jet Propulsion Lab) procuring materials for robotic exploration of the solar system.  But this time, I’ll only send Dad a text as I drive by his exit along the highway. Our paths won’t be crossing on this trip.  You see, my colleague and I are on our own exploration mission - - California Spring Trials.   A week-long event, California Spring Trials offers growers, retailers, horticultural educators and garden industry experts of all types (and even a “garden- variety” marketing gal like me), an opportunity to preview the newest most exciting flowers available for the coming seasons.   Since Calloway’s and Cornelius Nursery garden centers strive to offer Texas gardeners a wide selection of premium quality plants including the most recent introductions and improvements, we are committed to attending  California Spring Trials along with other key events as part of the process. 

While not as much like a scientific space mission and more like a “Flower” version of the movie, Cannon Ball Run, our objective involves finding the most compelling, interesting and exciting plants that horticulture science has to offer.  Early in our trip we had the pleasure of the company of a couple of academic scientists to keep us up-to-date on horticultural advancements.  Dr. Cynthia McKenney of the Texas Tech Department of Plant and Soil Science and Dr. H. Brent Pemberton, Professor of Ornamental Horticulture at Texas ArgriLife Research and Extension Center at Overton were on our flight and as it would turn out our visits coincided throughout the next day.  Both Dr. Pemberton and Dr. McKenney serve on the Executive Board of Texas Superstar, a resource for identifying plants tested and selected to perform in Texas landscapes.

And so begins the journey…after three gates and two plane changes our flight took off from DFW headed for San Diego.  A calm flight and a quick luggage pick up set the tone that all was well now that we’d arrived.  We picked up a large Mercury rental with leather interior to make the journey down the coast.  While the Lazy Boy type front seats were comfortable and roomy enough to spread out camera, lap top and notes, making working while in transit convenient; we couldn’t help feeling like “government agents” as we rolled into Encinitas in our monster Mercury.  We were meeting our California grower, Sunlet, who grows specialty annuals for us.  Dinner at Barracuda’s involved lively chatter about the discoveries to uncover in the coming days and the already discovered plants from the 2010 Spring Trials that would be pulled from greenhouses and shipped to Calloway’s and Cornelius Nursery garden centers in the coming weeks.

A few of the 2010 Spring Trial discoveries coming to Calloway's and Cornelius Nursery garden centers this Spring include:
‘Bunny Ear’ Salvia –
Enjoy the Bunny without the messy trail this Easter.  Lush fuzzy leaves with a thick fleshy feel create a small mound of light grayish green foliage that’s eye catching and interesting.  Conversation pieces for company and charmingly beautiful for the gardener, the ‘Bunny Ear’ Salvias arrive in our garden centers mid-April in time for Easter thanks to this unique discovery at last year’s Spring Trials.

Gourmet Strawberries –
Another dazzler for the taste buds, we saw basket grown gourmet strawberries that had an off the chart sweetness factor.  While these varieties are smaller and less meaty than the average American grocer strawberries, they unleash an amazingly sweet and full flavor like no other strawberry I’ve encountered.  And to add to the pleasure, these plants have colorful and interesting blooms which make them nice to mix in with ornamental container gardens.  Look for these at Calloway’s and Cornelius Nursery garden centers in the coming weeks.

Tomaccio, Sweet Raisin Tomatoes –
We found these at last year's trial. Texas edible gardeners will love this!  Look for them at Calloway's and Cornelius Nursery garden centers in early April.  Sundried and oh so sweet!  Their intense, sugary flavor picked fresh or dried at home is sure to be a garden thriller. They dry on the vine and have a deliciously sweet taste.  They were featured again at Plug Connection as shown in photos below.  Look for these in Calloway’s and Cornelius Nursery garden centers in the coming weeks.  As with many new introductions, should you be interested in getting one for your garden, buy it when you see it as availability on new varieties like these can be limited. Learn more at www.tomaccio.com

Black Velvet Petunia –
Ball Horticulture introduced the velvety Black Petunia last year.  These stunning beauties will be in Calloway’s and Cornelius Nursery garden c