The Year Round Gardener and Proven Winners Plants Giveaway

The following is a post written by Garden Guru Niki Jabbour about the Year-Round Gardener and Proven Winners Plants contest.--Jean Ann

Beginning on May 4th and running until noon PST on May 11th, 2012, one lucky winner will receive a copy of my award-winning new book, The Year Round Vegetable Gardener (Storey Publishing) as well as a preview box of new Proven Winners varieties that won’t be released until 2013! Examples of the plants that the winner may receive include Superbells^® Lemon Slice Calibrachoa, Senorita Blanca^® Cleome, Luscious^® Berry Blend Lantana, Blushing Princess^™ Lobularia, Supertunia^® Watermelon Charm Petunia and Colorblaze^® Marooned Coleus. The winner will be announced by 5 pm PST on May 11th.

Entering is simple! Just ‘like’ the Proven Winners Facebook page and/or my Facebook page and then return to this post and leave a comment saying you did so. You can enter up to two times. **Be sure to leave your name and email. If you prefer not to leave an email address, leave your Twitter name or link to your Facebook account. We can't contact you if you left an anonymous comment!** The winning entry will be chosen at random. Oh, and this is a multi-blog contest, so be sure to visit the other participating blogs to learn more! Check out the end of the post for a list of them all.

I am a big fan of incorporating edibles and ornamentals in plantings. Below is a post I've written to help you create beautiful combinations!

Edibles and Ornamentals - From Star Crossed Lovers to Perfect Planting Partners

Like Romeo and Juliet, vegetables and ornamentals are often kept apart, denied the simple pleasure of co-existence by well-meaning gardeners. It’s time to toss those old-fashioned notions onto the compost heap and start creating gardens and planters that bring the best of these worlds together.

If you need a little bit more convincing, let me assure you that there are plenty of reasons to blend edibles and ornamentals. Dazzling annual flowering plants, like Supertunia^® White Russian add eye-catching colour and interest to veggie beds and containers, but they also serve a practical purpose by attracting beneficial and pollinating insects to your edibles, helping to boost yield.

In the flower and shrub border, clumps of decorative veggies like purple cabbage, dinosaur kale (or any kale for that matter!), cherry tomatoes, globe artichokes, rainbow Swiss chard or even a perennial edible like asparagus can be tucked in between perennials like Veronica ‘Hocus Pocus’ and Daylily ‘Primal Scream’. You can also use low growing veggies and herbs to create an ornamental, but edible edge to the front of garden beds. For best results, choose low growing plants like red and green leaf lettuce, curly parsley, spicy globe basil, dwarf blue curled scotch kale or edible flowers like dwarf nasturtiums, pansies and calendula.

In potted edible gardens, try mixing a bush-type tomato like Black Seaman, Bush Beefsteak or Marglobe with a dramatic spiller like Superbena^® Royale Iced Cherry or Superbena^® Royale Peachy Keen, both vigorous plants that will trail two feet over the side of a pot.

In a large container, a pyramidal trellis can be used to support climbing crops like pole beans, peas or cucumbers. At the base, add Superbells^® Sweet Tart, Grape Punch or Cherry Star for an unbeatable combination.

Don’t forget to consider plant and leaf shape, color and texture when planning your pots. For example, the upright, spiky leaves of Graceful Grasses^® Blue Mohawk^®, adds interesting contrast to the wide, spreading foliage of red and green leaf lettuces, baby cabbages or Rainbow Swiss Chard.

This is a photo of National Garden Guru Jean Ann Van Krevelen's edible and ornamental container garden. She has a variety of Proven Winners plants in this shot, including Superbena^® Royale Iced Cherry, Superbells^® Cherry Star and Snow Princess^® Lobularia.

 Participating blogs:

www.punkrockgardens.com

http://yearroundveggiegardener.blogspot.com/

http://www.cowlickcottagefarm.com/

http://reddirtramblings.com/

http://www.kissmyaster.co/

http://www.jpetersongardendesign.com/

http://www.northcoastgardening.com/

http://www.gardenertofarmer.net/

http://www.thedandelionwrangler.ca/

http://insidestorey.blogspot.com/