Let’s hear it for Proven Winners® ColorChoice® flowering shrubs, a 2020 Fling Bloom-Level Sponsor!
Best known for their outstanding hydrangeas that are packed with bigger blooms, held up on strong, supportive stems, it’s no wonder Proven Winners ColorChoice varieties like ‘Limelight’, Incrediball® and Invincibelle® Spirit II have become household names.
Proven Winners ColorChoice offers over 35 hydrangea varieties, from smooth hydrangeas, to bigleaf and mountain hydrangeas, to panicle and oak leaf hydrangeas. Their 2020 Hydrangea of the Year, Invincibelle® Ruby Hydrangea arborescens is a standout. It has rich, red blooms that appear all summer and it’s super hardy, in USDA zones 3 to 8.
The dark burgundy red flower buds of Invincibelle® Ruby open to a two-toned combination of bright ruby red and silvery pink. The foliage is extra dark and stems are strong, making this new hydrangea a gem in any garden. It’s also a strong rebloomer that will be an excellent addition to any garden. Like other smooth hydrangeas, it flowers on new growth, so it blooms every year without fail.
Year after year, nurseries big and small look to Proven Winners ColorChoice for new shrub introductions that perform better, and Proven Winners ColorChoice looks to garden communicators of all types, like the flingers, to spread the word about their experiences with these new plants. This expert advice helps consumers make informed choices about what they grow, and helps our network of growers and garden centers experience greater sales success.
“Not Just New, Better” means growers, garden centers, landscapers and home gardeners will all feel like winners when they choose Proven Winners plants, a brand synonymous with quality and consistency.
Find them online:
Website: provenwinners-shrubs.com
Facebook: PWCC - facebook.com/pwcolorchoice/ and Garden PR - facebook.com/NatalieGardenPR/
Twitter: PWCC - twitter.com/Spring_Meadow also Garden PR - twitter.com/GardenPR_PW
Instagram: instagram.com/pwcolorchoice/
You Tube: bit.ly/ColorChoiceVideos
*** The Garden Bloggers Fling is a non-profit organization; we’d be nowhere without our generous sponsors! Please let them know how much they mean to us—big "thank-yous" to each and every one! ***
We've talked about the Fling hotel, transportation, food, and fun things to do. Now let's take a look at the gardens, shall we? Let's start with the last one on the schedule: We'll be visiting the Allen Centennial Garden on Sunday afternoon, June 26, and you won't want to miss it! Described as the "artful living laboratory" of UW-Madison's Horticulture Department, Allen Centennial is a public botanical garden, open year-round, dawn to dusk.
Located on a cozy 2.5 acres surrounding the historic Dean's Residence, the gardens were designed to complement the home and its existing plantings. A substantial gift from a former UW faculty member, Ethel Allen, meant she was instrumental in providing support for the early phases of garden construction. Her husband, Dr. Oscar Allen, was a professor at the university for nearly three decades. The couple co-authored what is considered the "encyclopedia" of the role of legumes in nitrogen fixation.
Naming the gardens after the Allens in 1989 coincided with the commemoration of the 100th year anniversary of the university's Department of Horticulture, hence the garden's full name of Allen Centennial Garden. The garden is built around a stately Victorian gothic house, which was one of the first buildings on the agricultural campus and served as home for the first four deans.
Allen Centennial is a "comfortable" garden: It has plenty of magical nooks and crannies to explore, but it's compact and not sprawling. It's divided into 14 distinct areas—from English cottage gardens, to an iris meadow, to a Japanese garden, and a Wisconsin woodland garden. The property serves as an outdoor classroom for UW-Madison students and surrounding communities, providing learning opportunities for visitors of all ages.
Imagine this picturesque spot as a comfy, peaceful venue for the close of the 2022 Fling. Hopefully, it will be a mild, calm summer afternoon/early evening. Our ending surprise send-off will add an extra touch of whimsy to a beautiful place to share with gardening friends.
Photos courtesy Allen Centennial Garden
