From the Garden: Standout Annuals

The Spooner Agriculture Research Station Teaching & Display Garden has some great ideas that you can use next year when ordering seeds for your 2024 garden.  Several that stood out as especially striking are shown below. 

This combo is Black Magic Kale and Holi Scarlet Zinnia.  The Zinnia is a 2019 All-America Selections winner.  "AAS Judges deemed this an “excellent flower” because of the bright solid color, size, and the number of blooms as well as the disease resistance, which was superior to the comparisons."  

The other combo that received raves from visitors and pollinators included two All-America Selections winners.  Snapdragon Double Shot TM Orange Bicolor F1 (Antirrhinum majus nanum) was a winner this year and combined beautifully with the 2022 winner Verbena Vanity (Verbena bonariensis).  Bees and butterflies were constantly visiting both of these in August. 

This 2019 All-America Selections winner is Big Duck Gold Marigold.  It looks good in both a planting bed as well as in containers.  Large blooms and full bushy plants really stand out.  
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The Teaching & Display Garden is open to the public for self-guided tours during day light hours seven days a week mid-May through mid-September.   

The Station’s Teaching and Display Garden is located at 780 Orchard Lane off Highway 70 just east of Spooner. Due to construction on Highway 70,  Orchard Lane and Hwy 70 is closed at the Yellow River bridge so the only access to the Garden is via Orchard Lane to the north from Ramsdell or Ojibwa Rd.