One of the best trial gardens for flowering annuals is right in our back yard. Penn State Extension, industry groups and the Master Gardeners of Lancaster and Dauphin Counties run it. Located at the Penn State Research Farm near Landisville, it's free and open every day during the growing season.

Last week they held an open house and plant evaluation for commercial growers. I spotted a pretty good number of local growers in attendance. We're all looking for that perfect plant to add to our sales offerings next year. More realistically, we get to see the plants of many breeders growing under similar conditions.

One can ooh and aah over 'Diamond Frost' Euphorbia, which has been a standout since 2004 or 2005 or 'Bonfire' Begonia that unquestionably was last year's best introduction. Or, one can go bleary-eyed walking through several hundred yards of competing petunias or geraniums.

This year the plant appearance was about as good as I have ever seen. The director had an explanation that caught me off guard. He said, "We have had perfect weather, it hasn't rained recently." The obvious quickly struck me. Rainfall is necessary for the plants, but can quickly wreck havoc on flowers. They water their plants with a drip system which does not put water on the flower or foliage. That's something else for those of you who like to wield the water hose to think about.

If you think I'm stalling with the names of the best new plants for 2008 you are correct. Much of what I saw was small tweaks and improvements in existing plants.

My daughter, who has worked in the breeding field, described it well. In her search for a yellow impatiens, the first target was the color. The next goal was a smaller plant. Then the goal was that the flowers were more visible above the foliage.

That's not all she said but you can get the picture of how the process works. The long-standing claim still holds. Eighty per cent of the annuals you will find in the greenhouse next year were not available five years ago. The first time I heard that I was ready to argue, but quickly realized that it is true.

The best plant group I spotted for next year was a five or seven color series of regal, also called Martha Washington, geraniums. If you have been interested in plants maybe half as long as I have been your nose turned up and a frown appeared at the very thought of regal geraniums.Going back 20 years or so they had wonderful early spring flowers but the blooms disappeared at the first hint of warm weather. Bud set occurred at about 45 degrees and that's tough to pull that off during our summers.Last Thursday, I mopped my brow several times from sweat, if not amazement, as I looked at regals that were covered with flowers and buds. That's what I mean by incremental changes.

I would encourage you to visit the trials some day or evening if you like flowers. It would be a real treat. If you don't know enough about that area to follow the signs from Auction Road call the extension service at 394-6851 for directions.

If you spot something unusual, look for it next year at your favorite greenhouse. If you fall in love with a particular petunia you may be disappointed because it is almost easier to pick them by throwing darts at a list of the hundreds of possibilities than it is to compare the multitude of plants that look a lot alike.

Photo courtesy of PS Extenstion