All-America Selections announces new display gardens and trial judges

During a recent All-America Selections (AAS) board meeting, the following new trial judges were presented for consideration and approved:

• Angus Mellish of Vesey Seeds Ltd., Prince Edward Island, Canada, was previously a Vegetable Judge and has now been approved to also judge Flowers, Bedding Plants and Cool Season Bedding Plants.
• Bill Watson of Grimes Horticulture is now an AAS Vegetable Judge at the Grimes Horticulture office in Concord, Ohio, making him one of our first judges in Ohio in many years.
• Peggy Huff of Johnny’s Selected Seeds, is now the Flower Judge at the Johnny’s trial grounds in Albion, Maine.
• Laura Robles from Mast Young Plants has been approved as a Bedding Plant and Vegetable Judge at Mast’s trial grounds in Grand Rapids, Mich.
• Jessie Liebenguth from Iowa State University’s Reiman Gardens was approved as a Flower Judge, becoming the first AAS Flower Judge in Iowa.
• Diane Anderson from the University of Illinois Arboretum was approved as a Bedding Plant, Flower and Cool Season Bedding Plant Judge, reinstating the AAS floral judging at that institution.

In other business during that meeting, three new public gardens were presented as possible display gardens. The following three gardens were approved, and are the first and only AAS Display Gardens in their respective states, bringing the grand total of states with an AAS Display Garden to 47:

• University of Wyoming Garden in Laramie, Wyoming
• Tizer Botanic Garden and Arboretum in Jefferson City, Montana
• University of Hawaii Urban Garden Center in Pearl City, Hawaii