At Garfield Park, vote until Sept. 30 for your favorite plant for the American Garden Award: Celosia Arrabona Red (front), Cuphea Sriracha Violet (rear) and Petunia Sanguna Radiant Blue (right). Not pictured is Foxglove Digiplexis Illumination Flame. © Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
If you are going to the Indiana State Fair this month, hop the shuttle or hike over to the north side of the fairgrounds to see the All-America Selections Display Garden.
This is the third year for the garden, which is redesigned and replanted each year by Marion County Master Gardeners to keep it fresh and interesting. The garden is slightly northeast of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources area.
You’ll see the newest All-America Selections flowers, vegetables and herbs, along with a collection of AAS winners from previous years.
“This year I don’t have all of the plants totaled, but the years of AAS range from 1935’s Straight 8 cucumber to the latest in 2014 for this year,” such as Mascotte, a dwarf French bean, said Steve Mayer, Purdue Marion County Extension horticulture educator.
Last year, Master Gardeners volunteered 1,601 hours in the display garden. Each week, volunteers weed, water, deadhead, mulch and tidy the garden. And, they harvest. Last year, 855 pounds of produce were donated to a local food bank, he said.
The All-America Selections Display Garden includes vegetables, flowers and herbs that should grow well in Indianapolis. Photo courtesy Steve Mayer
Beside the plants, visitors will see various examples of raised and accessible planting beds, ways to cage or trellis tomatoes, beans, cucumbers and other vegetables, examples of how to protect plants from insects, such as squash bugs, and other techniques you can use at home.
Master Gardeners will be in the garden during the fair, too, ready to answer questions and give advice. In 2013, 13,778 people visited the garden during the fair.
On the other side of town at Garfield Park, visitors have a chance to vote for their favorite plants on display as part of the American Garden Award program. Designed to instill interest and excitement for gardening and new plants, it gives the public a chance to have their say. Garfield is one of 32 public gardens in North American participating in the six-year-old program.
Thomas Graham, a Garfield Park Master Garden, plants and maintains the beds, which this year, are on the west side of the Arts Center. Four plants are in the running: Cuphea Sriracha Violet, Foxglove Digiplexis Illumination Flame, Celosia Arrabona Red, and Petunia Sanguna Radiant Blue. Vote for your favorites with your smartphone or online. Voting ends Sept. 30.