Press Releases

Gardens of Glory — Our Heritage Grows More Beautiful

Gardens of Glory™ growers offer superb plants for America's gardeners, plants that reflect America's great heritage. Honoring our patriotic theme are our distinctive lines of ornamental plants that fall under the Gardens of Glory™ umbrella: Patriot™ Lantanas; Liberty™ Cannas; All-American Daylilies™; Heaven Scent™ Pelargoniums; and Spirit Cleomes™. From the earliest days of exploration and settlement, our American land has offered bountiful rewards that have helped make us the world’s proudest and greatest country. Among our great treasures are the rich soils and the multitude of native and American-bred plants that have become well loved throughout the world.

Our country, born of strife and glory, horror and heroism, stands for themes of glory that are hallmarks for every American, themes that we all can help honor through our private and public gardens. Courage, honor, loyalty, freedom, justice, equality and—most of all—hope and joy mark our country's history and life in America. Gardens of Glory™ plants can help Americans celebrate the beauty and vigor of life in our great country.

Gardeners have an extra measure of appreciation for this great land of ours and for the rewards of tilling its rich soil. Since the time of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello gardens, the success stories of gardeners, plants and gardens have played themselves out time after time throughout the United States of America. We sincerely hope that you will join Gardens of Glory™ growers in celebrating our country’s heritage with beautiful plants created and grown in the spirit of our great land.

Gardens of Glory™ Fine Products:

Patriot™ Lantanas

Cutting-edge plant breeding by Dr. R. J. (Jack) Roberson has led to renewed interest in lantanas. This pioneer plantsman continues to blaze new trails in color, size and form with his award-winning Patriot™ Lantanas. Dr. Roberson's latest introductions bring the Patriot™ line to 17 selections, which he delineates by size and form in five product groups:

Patriot™ Pillars™: Large, rapid-growing mounding form, hedge type
Patriot™ Weepers™: Trailing, recumbent form
Patriot™ Classics™: Average-sized mounding form
Patriot™ Ponies™: Semi-compact mounding form
Patriot™ Petites™: Compact mounding form

Sun-fast, heat-tolerant, and attractive to both butterflies and hummingbirds, Patriot™ Lantanas are an ideal choice for summer color ranging from dove white to brilliant red-orange to hot pink. Patriot™ Lantanas are available from top growers nationwide.

Liberty™ Dwarf™ and Liberty™ Toy™ Cannas

Liberty™ Dwarf™ and Liberty™ Toy™ Cannas, the result of over two decades of hybridizing, growing and selecting, come in an array of juicy-fruit colors. Noted for their short and sturdy stature, Liberty™ Cannas are profuse bloomers, shed faded flowers cleanly, and have good resistance to heat, rot and leaf roller worms. Liberty™ Dwarf™ Cannas measure up to their name at 3-4' in height. Liberty™ Dwarf™ 'Watermelon' is an International Plant Selection (IPS) bred by Dr. Roberson that features luscious raspberry-red flowers and dark-green leaves edged in mahogany. The Liberty™ Dwarf™ line also includes 'Pink', 'Scarlet', 'Bugle Boy' and 'Sun'.

New for 2004 is the first of the ultra-dwarf Liberty™ Toy™ Cannas, Liberty™ Toy™ Red, blooming in early summer at only 12" and maturing at only 24". This dynamite little beauty gives the bold splash of color characteristic of cannas, but in a "pint-size" plant appropriate for smaller spaces, borders, and patio container gardens. The brilliant red bloom contrasts the medium-green foliage.

For color from early in the season until frost, use Liberty™ Cannas as a backdrop in beds and borders, or as focal points in large containers. The Liberty™ name assures you of quality plants and a brilliant summer display.

All-American Daylilies

All-American Daylilies are those rare cultivars that have scored highest in the All-American Daylily Selection Council's (AADSC) rigorous testing program across at least five USDA hardiness zones. The 2004 winners are Lady Lucille, a blazing orange with unsurpassed 'carrying power' in the landscape, and Chorus Line, a winner in the exhibition category which offers small, fragrant, pink blossoms on a compact plant. The 2003 winners are 'Frankly Scarlet' (ppaf), a superb daylily with 4-inch scarlet blooms that intensify in color throughout the day; and 'Plum Perfect'™, a daylily in the landscape category that thrives even in light shade. These 2003 All-Americans join six previous winners beginning in 1994 with Dr. Roberson's now-famous 'Black-Eyed Stella', a nearly continuously-blooming daylily with great eye appeal.

Spirit Cleomes™

Also available in 2004 are the new Spirit Cleomes™—compact, colorful, and consistent! While typical cleomes grow to a lanky 5-6', self-branching Spirit Cleomes™ are a tidy 24-30" tall and 18-24" wide. They come in four cool pastel colors, as well as a breakthrough royal purple, for endless design possibilities. Most importantly, Spirit Cleomes™ are vegetatively propagated and therefore consistent in growth habit and color. Brought to the industry by the breeder of the Patriot™ Lantanas, R. J. (Jack) Roberson, Spirit Cleomes™ will quickly earn a place at the top of the new plants list.

Heaven Scent 'Angel' Pelargoniums

Heaven Scent 'Angel' Pelargoniums (geraniums) will join the Gardens of Glory family and make their debut in 2005. They are new hybrids combining the fragrant foliage of scented pelargoniums with the showy blooms of regal pelargoniums (aka "Martha Washingtons") in one great plant. Eye-catching, extended bloom display and aromatic foliage with hints of citrus, mint and spice make Heaven Scent™ Pelargoniums "an answer to a gardener's prayer."

Enjoy colorful daylilies, cleomes, pelargoniums, cannas, lantanas—and the promise of more to come! Celebrate America from sea to shining sea with Gardens of Glory™ select products.

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For more information: jo@gardensofglory.com, or call 816-224-9119.