Each spring the Georgia Plant Selections committee, which is a no profit organization composed of environmental horticulture professionals and faculty from the University of Georgia, selects an annual flower, a perennial, a shrub and a tree to receive its coveted Gold Medal Award for exceptional performance. Only the best in each category can earn the award. The program which began in 1994 was introduced to evaluate promising new plants, to promote their production, sale and use and to identify superior and often under used plants.

Many of the plants which have been identified as Gold Medal Winners have become permanent fixtures in gardens because of their beauty, the ease in growing, their tolerance of insect and disease. These plants have taken places of prominence in our gardens because of the performance they give year after year.

The 1999 Gold Medal Winners are as follows: Annual - The Nova Pentas which is sometimes called the "Egyptian Star Flowers" are fast becoming a popular summer bedding plant in Georgia. They thrive in the hot, humid summers and bloom consistently from spring until the first fall frost. Colors available are from red to white, and lavender to pink. The Nova has been singled out as superior to all the rest. A single plant my have 20 to 30 large clusters of flowers at one time, attracting butterflies and hummingbirds like magnets. The upright stems are from 18 to 24 inches long and they make excellent cut flowers. Each plant grows 12 to 18 inches wide. Don't plant the pentas until the soil is warm. Plants grow in the full sun and like moist, well-drained soil enriched with organic compost.

Perennial - The Lenten Rose (Helleborus orientalis). This plant is an old-fashioned perennial plant cultivated in Georgia for more than a century and passed along from neighbor to neighbor. It's a tough as nails plant, growing as a ground cover under oaks, magnolias and pines with minimal care and flowering consistently each spring. The plant may take three to five years to provide a solid ground cover. Once established and flowering, the plants will cast their seeds, and seedlings will begin emerging near mother plants. Lenten Rose is a harbinger of spring, blooming in February and even coming through the snow in north Georgia. Blessed with an exceptionally long blooming period, the Lenten rose will provide flowers from February through May. Many colors are available ranging from white to light green, pink, plum, and magenta. Plant size is 15 to 18 inches high with an equal spread. Plants grow in the shade in moist, well drained soil.

Shrub - The Mohawk Viburnum. This deciduous shrub grows seven to eight feet tall. This viburnum is a cross between the Burkwood Viburnum and the fragrant flowers of the Koreanspice Viburnum. The fragrance will fill the air with a spicy, clove-like aroma in the early spring. Terminal flower clusters open early before the foliage appears and the flower clusters are brilliant red and open to white petals that are pinkish-red underneath. The flowers are followed by glossy, deep-green foliage that's highly pest resistant. Fall color ranges from purple to brilliant orange, depending on temperatures. This viburnum is a great nook or cranny plant. It faces into the winter landscape, then bursts forth as a harbinger of spring to become a focal point of fragrance and beauty. This shrub grows in the full sun to partial shade in moist, well drained soil.

Tree - The American Yellowwood. This tree can become a substitute for the dogwood in your landscape as it provides spectacular, fragrant summer blooms, brilliant yellow fall color and interesting pale gray bark. It is native to the southeast and can be found growing in the wild in Georgia. Although sometimes slow to come into bloom the tree bears wisteria-like clusters of white flowers up to 16 inches long and six inches wide that look like "cluster of white rain," says Dr. Michael Dirr, professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia. It's spectacular in full bloom and will become an accent plant in the landscape. Added benefits are the tree's high tolerance to insect and disease and it's ability to adapt to a range of sites. The tree will grow in full sun to partial shade and prefers well drained soils. It adapts to high-ph soils in the wild, but also adapts to acid soils common in the Georgia Piedmont.