Norman

The Garden Guy has been working on a project, and the number I came up with is 1340. It is not my address, and the number wasn’t the assignment, but part of my own research to help me get started. That number is the total accumulation of awards won by the Supers: Supertunia petunia, Superbells calibrachoa and Superbena verbenas. That

(As an aside, I find it funny that some of my favorites within these divisions – those I would put in the category of GOAT (Greatest of All Time) –don’t have any awards, but as a former university horticul-

NORMAN WINTER/TNS

This container shows Superbena

Stormburst verbena, Supertunia Vista Paradise petunia, Superbells ture specialist who oversaw the Mississippi Medallion Award, I can understand why; we simply could not trial everything.)

Watermelon Punch verbena, ColorBlaze Lime Time coleus and Rockin Red dianthus.

These three divisions – Supertunia petunias, Superbells calibrachoas and Superbena ver- benas – deserve to be together. Together they will create awardwinning mixed containers, baskets and boxes, just like Acapulco Sun, the Recipe of the Year I presented to you a couple of weeks ago.

To The Garden Guy, this is where the real gardening fun begins. Picking out the color scheme you want to work with, planting the container and bringing it into full bloom is only topped by the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds that are sure to arrive.

Proven Winners recipes are a good place to start getting ideas, but unless you are a savvy online shopper, you will be relegated to picking out plants that are available in your market. If you have progressive garden centers, this will be like going to the candy store. The Proven Winners recipes are also a little like food photography perfection. expect with your artistically designed containers. By artistic I really mean that you're picking

Shannon Dr.