The All-America Rose Selection committee is a non-profit association of rose growers and introducers dedicated to the introduction and promotion of exceptional roses. AARS operates a nationwide network of 20 official test gardens located throughout the country which represent all climate zones in the U.S.

New rose varieties in the AARS trials are grown and monitored for two years receiving only as much care as would be given in the average home garden. This sophisticated evaluation process results in a new crop of AARS winning roses each year, guaranteeing that only the best make it into your garden. The winners for this year are Carefree Spirit, Cinco de Mayo and Pink Promise.

Cinco de Mayo is a wildly colored floribunda rose that offers giant clusters of blooms containing every shade of red, orange, magenta, purple, smoke, and more! Each flower is unique, and a fully blooming shrub is a conflagration of festive colors, enhanced by a fresh-cut apple fragrance you will love. Just the right size for a low hedge, large containers, or mass planting, Cinco de Mayo is a standout in any garden setting.

Baronne De Rothschild (Hybrid Tea ) 1968

Produces exhibition quality cherry red blooms with a cream reverse. Their strong fragrance will make them a valuable addition to the bouquet. The upright bush is vigorous and clean. 40 petals.

California Dreamin' (Hybrid Tea) 2009

For the lovers of 'Princess de Monaco' who were disappointed by its lack of fragrance, this new Hybrid Tea from Meilland finally answers their quest. It has kept and enhanced the vibrant beauty of the 'Princess' while adding vigor and better flower form and fragrance. The plant is short and more tolerant to the usual rose diseases. It will perform well in all climates with tender loving care, and will express itself fully and freely in the dream rose climates of California and the dry West. 28-35 petals

Double Pink Knockout (Shrub) 2009

The Pink Double Knock Out® Rose will find a permanent home in your garden. This absolutely carefree landscape rose has all of the same wonderful characteristics of its parent, The Double Knock Out® with a fabulous hot pink bloom. The fluorescent double pink blossoms attract attention all summer and give way to deep purple fall foliage adorning your garden with three seasons of interest. You don't have to waste time removing old flowers from this blooming machine. The Pink Double Knock Out® Rose takes the maintenance out of roses. Hardy, drought tolerant upon establishment, this rose is a carefree, showstopping Star®! 18-24 petals

Enchanted Evening (Floribunda) 2009

Among the best lavender roses ever! The full, ruffled blooms wear darker lavender at their centers with a silvery reverse. There are plenty of candelabra flower clusters to enjoy, even late into the season. Their scent is a powerful citrus essence. Superior disease resistance and a compact, rounded habit. 20-25 petals

Gourmet Popcorn (SH) 1988

You won’t believe the profusion of small fat buds and fragrant crisp white blooms that pop open in large cascading clusters on this vigorous plant. The overly abundant bloom, the rounded bushy habit and the very disease resistant dark green leaves are perfect for the landscape. 15-20 petals

Kardinal (Hybrid Tea) 1986

The ultimate red florist rose for years and finally available for your garden where it will perform much better than most other roses hybridized for the flower trade. 30 petals

Kimberlina (Floribunda) 2009

2009 Floribunda of the Year® Winner. Kimberlina is one of the healthiest, toughest, most vigorous floribundas ever introduced. Set against glossy dark green foliage on an upright, well branched plant, Kimberlina's light pink blooms exhibit a soft-spoken elegance and versatility that lends itself ideally to any type of mixed landscape. 20 petals

Light My Fire (Floribunda) 2009

Lady Bird (Hybrid Tea) 2009

This elegant hybrid tea rose was personally chosen by former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, for its unusual, vibrant color and graceful form. Large, generously petaled flowers open slowly and fully on tall, strong stems, presenting a long-lasting display of energetic color and tantalizing fragrance. A vigorous bloomer that makes a fabulous cut rose. Deep orange to coral orange. 35-40 petals

Mary Rose (English) 1983

This rose is repeat-flowering! The exquisite large pink rosettes and Damask fragrance make a wonderful show in your garden Nice compact habit and very prolific bloomer. Powerful perfume fragrance. Over 40 petals

Paradise Found (Hybrid Tea) 2009

Rock & Roll (Grandiflora) 2009

Big creamy buds set the ‘beat’ for what’s to become a rockin’ show of colors.  Each petal unfurls to reveal a different pattern of striped & splashed burgundy, red & white.  It’s not just a video for your eyes though.  This is a live performance that involves your nose ‘cause the fragrance is killer.  Deep green leaves set the stage & clothe the bushy full plant.  Great for cutting, for smelling or just for enjoying.  Rock on! Over 35 petals

Shockwave ( Floribunda) 2009

There’s no rose that’s any yellowier…and no foliage that’s any greener.  The combo makes your eyes blink & your head spin in disbelief.  Better yet, the flowers hold on to their searing yellow tones to the very end, dropping away from the well-behaved plant just in time to welcome the next round of bloom.  Tidy enough to tuck into a landscape, lend an accent to a container or top a rose tree.  Loads of bright, super-glossy apple green leaves mirror the blazing blossoms. 25 petals

Sophy’s Rose (Shrub) 1997

The petals are small at the centre, increasing in size by degrees until the outer petals are quite large. These create broad and rather flat, rosette shaped flowers. The attractive light red colouring combines well with most colour schemes. This is a very productive rose suitable for rose beds and towards the front of a border. The growth is bushy with beautiful, healthy, elongated foliage. Excellent repeat flowering. Over 35 petals

Summer Love (Hybrid Tea) 2009

Like a beacon in a sea of green, there’s nothing that lights up the garden better than a touch of soft luminous yellow.  Summer Love will win your heart with its big voluptuous full flowers of gentle lasting yellow – sometimes tinged with just a touch of pink.  It’s not just her soft colors that are easy to mix into the landscape…her bushy contained habit makes this large flowered lovely easy to tuck into restricted spaces.  Lots of kelly-green leaves provide the perfect backdrop for the luscious blossoms. 30-35 petals

Sweetness (Grandiflora) J&P Rose of the Year 2009

As its name implies, Sweetness is a delectable treat for all your senses. A vigorous, healthy grandiflora, Sweetness bursts with soft, versatile lavender color and fills your garden with clusters of high-centered hybrid tea blooms all season. Bred from the powerfully fragrant French rose Melody Parfumée, Sweetness packs an intoxicating sweet lemon fragrance powerful enough to fill an entire garden! Sweetness is a must-have for gardeners demanding exceptional beauty coupled with superior garden performance. 30 petals

The Imposter (Shrub) 2009

Bloom is reminiscent of clematis. Nice compact habit and unique flower color make this a must have in any garden. 5 petals

Tequila (Shrub) 2006

Another beautiful rose bred by the house of Meilland, performs wonderfully in the garden. The colorful blooms surrounded by glossy green foliage easily outshine its garden companions. A great specimen plant, but don't be afraid to use it as a hedge or screen for a bold statement. Distantly related to Sevillana®, it loves hot dry climates and blooms non-stop throughout the season. 20-25 petals

William Shakespeare 2000 (English) 2000

This richly colored bloom is held on a very disease resistant, rounded shrub with excellent repeat flowering power. The blooms are a rich velvety crimson that change gradually to a wonderful deep purple. With a doubt one of the best crimson English Roses offered by David Austin to date. The neat, upright growth habit makes it perfect in large flower beds and borders. 35 petals

White Majesty (Hybrid Tea) 2006

White Out (Shrub) 2009

From the creator of the Knock Out rose series comes this new rose
called White Out. This new shrub rose will grow to a height of approximately three to four feet tall.. It is an efficient, more compact alternative to Iceberg. 5 petals

Teeny Bopper (Shrublet) 2009

Warm & Fuzzy (MINI) 2009

It’s been a while since a new mossy Mini has come along…especially one with beautiful bud form.  You can’t resist rubbing the soft fuzzy buds to release the fragrance of sweet juniper.  The warm red color lasts well throughout the life of the flower, refusing to fade, blue or burn until the last lovely petal drops clean.  But it goes beyond just the feel-good color & mossy fragrance of the fuzz, the vigorous clean bushy plant is oh-so-easy to grow & full of flowers. Near 25 petals

Abraham Darby (Climbing) 1985

Lusciously large, highly fragrant rose is filled with peach-pink petals and can be trained on a wall or trellis. This lusciously large, highly fragrant rose is filled with peach-pink petals and can be trained on a wall or trellis. Over 45 petals

Chocolate Sundae (Climbing) 2009

Using the breakthrough color breeding of Mrs. Simpson of New Zealand, Meilland developed this very unique tobacco brown climber. It successfully recreates in the garden the strong brown colors developed for florist roses. Performs best in California. 20-22 petals

Full Moon Rising (Climbing) 2007

This soft cream yellow mutation of our popular Polka climber is similar to its parent in all aspects except for its very light color. The flowers can be cut and will last long in the vase. The color will be enhanced in cooler climates. 90-100 petals

Polka (Climbing) 1997

This climber combines the look of the old-fashioned rose with the repeat flowering, disease tolerance and winter hardiness of a modern shrub. Endowed with a fragrance that beckons your visit to the garden, Polka's unique peach color will become a favorite for years to come. 30-35 petals

1. Plant groundcovers.
2. Plant a basket of narcissus for holiday bloom.
3. Finish filling flower beds with cool-season flowers for winter and spring bloom.
4. Plant nasturtiums and continue to plant wildflowers from seeds.
5. Plant flowering kale.
6. Continue to plant winter vegetables, including garlic, onion sets, and seed potato.
7. Prune pine trees and other conifers now through February.
8. Divide and plant agapanthus.
9. Divide matilija poppy.
10. Open up spaces in dense trees to allow wind to pass through.
11. Prune acacias.
12. Prune cane berries other than low-chill raspberries.
13. Cut back chrysanthemums after bloom; clean up the ground.
14. Fertilize cool-season bedding flowers.
15. Continue to fertilize cineraria for growth.
16. Once rains arrive, stop watering succulents growing in the ground.
17. Water bulbs, especially potted ones.
18. Water roses until midmonth--but only if rains aren't adequate.
19. Don't let citrus go dry in cold or frosty weather.
20. Bait flower beds for cutworms, slugs and snails with Sluggo Plus.
21. Stake young trees loosely so they can develop strong trunks.
22. Pre-chill tulips, hyacinths, and crocuses.
23. Wrap the trunks of young citrus and avocado trees with an insulating material to protect them from cold.
24. Mulch, mulch, and mulch some more.

By Tamara Galbraith

You see them all over the place during autumn: bales of hay used as fall décor. But once all the autumn decorations have been put away, what should you do with your bales of hay?

One option is: compost them. Hay is an excellent additive to the compost pile, and ideally, the heat of the pile will kill any weed seeds that might be languishing in the bales. Straw apparently breaks down even better than hay.

Hay and straw make great mulches and/or path covers too. First, though, break open the bales and let them sit outside for a couple of weeks. This will allow wild birds to come in and munch on any weed seeds that might still be present. When spreading hay or straw bales on garden beds, be sure they don't stay too clumpy as you break the bales apart.

Last, hay bales left intact make great cold frames--a kind of mini-greenhouse for housing tender plants during the colder seasons. Simply arrange the bales in a tight square and place your plants inside, either right in the soil or in containers. A piece of Plexiglas or an old window serves as the lid.

If you decide to give this easy cold frame a try, be aware that you must monitor the temperature frequently. Too much sun, and the plants inside will fry, so prop the lid open if necessary. If temperatures are going to drop too low for your plants, throw a blanket over the whole contraption and remove it when things stabilize.

No matter what, the hay will eventually break down, though, so keep an eye out for that--as well as the occasional mouse looking for a warm, fluffy place to spend the winter.

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What's the best time to spray my peach and nectarine trees to prevent peach-leaf curl?

Answer:

Peaches and nectarines should actually be sprayed 3 times each winter to prevent peach-leaf curl. The first (and most important) time to spray is in fall when about half the leaves have fallen. We recommend a combination of a copper spray, such as Liqui-Cop, with a spreader sticker, such as Master Nursery Spreader/Sticker. The first spray should also include dormant spray oil, such as Bonide All-Season Oil, to kill any insects hoping to over-winter. The key is to make this first application before winter storms and while there is still some foliage to absorb the spray.

The second application should be made at full dormancy in mid-winter.

The third and final application should be made during pink bud swell, but prior to opening of blooms.

What You'll Need:

• 1 acorn squash, cut in 1/2
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Step by Step:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Scoop the seeds and stringy pulp out of the squash cavities and discard. In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, butter, syrup and salt and pepper, to taste.
• Rub the squash cavities and cut sides of the squash with the butter mixture and place them on a baking sheet, cut side up.
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork.
• Serve 1 half per person.