Behind the scenes with Nursery Management magazine

Little Devil ninebark

Little Devil wins Garden Idol
After a nationwide vote, First Editions Little Devil ninebark from Bailey Nurseries is the 2011 Garden Idol winner. The plant was presented at Garden Idol during ANLA’s Management Clinic in January. And Garden Idol was co-hosted by Nursery Management publisher Todd Davis.

Little Devil features deep burgundy foliage throughout the season and clusters of small white-pink flowers in June. It grows up to 4 feet high and keeps its compact shape without pruning. It’s hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 3-7.

Little Devil beat out some pretty hefty competition: Ball FloraPlant’s Black Velvet petunia, Spring Meadow Nursery’s Little Lime hydrangea, Syngenta Flowers’ Strawberries and Cream Lanai Verbena, Ball Ornamentals’ Fire and Ice hydrangea, Intrinsic Perennials’ Mai Tai and Alabama Slammer geums, and PanAmerican Seed’s Plentifall pansy and Gryphon begonia.

Bailey Nurseries is on a roll – the company won last year’s Garden Idol with its Vanilla Strawberry hydrangea. Do I smell a three-peat?

Labor is one of the issues on the Crystal Ball itinerary.

Heavy hitters gathering
GIE Media is hosting The Horticultural Industry Crystal Ball Project June 5-7 in St. Louis. We’ve invited some of the top nursery and greenhouse producers to discuss critical issues such as energy costs and the use of alternative energy; labor; water uses, shortages and conservation; technology advances; distribution patterns; and communications, including social media.

Watch for stories and videos from this event in upcoming issues and on our website.