Is Brooklyn a convenient location for you? (Sorry, my American geography is not so great..). If it is, the Cranford Rose Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens might be what you're looking for. They have a wonderful collection which seems to include a high proportion of Antiques and Species/near Species. Sadly, I only know this Garden through photos and descriptions. A lady from there posts here sometimes - is it monarda?? There were some terrific pics on a thread titled 'Spring walk around (very long)' posted by labrea last june, that should whet your appetite! (Type in the title in the 'Search in GardenWeb' box.) Comtesse :¬)

Chandra, The All-American Selections program dates back to the 1930s. Varieties are grown and evaluated in a series of test gardens across the USA and Canada. One of those test gardens is in Oklahoma. The purpose of the program is to promote new garden seed varieties (flower, herb and vegetable) that have been tested and found to grow well in many parts of the country. The AAS program has given us a lot of great varieties over the decades including the varieties listed below that still are grown today: 1935 Giant Southern Curled Mustard, Cucumber "Straight Eight" 1943 Tomato "Jubilee" 1950 Snap Bean "Topcrop" 1969 Broccoli "Green Comet" 1970 Squash "Waltham Butternut" 1979 Pea "Sugar Snap" 1989 Tomato "Celebrity" 1994 Tomato "Big Beef" 1995 Petunia "Wave" 2001 Sweet Corn "Honey Select" 2001 Pepper "Giant Marconi" 2006 Ornamental Pepper "Black Pearl" The AAS program also has given us a lot of varieties that were quite popular and widely grown but which have since fallen from favor. No, I don't think they are "The Best" for every location, but rather that in the trials and evaluation process they were found to have good traits including wide adaptability. The fact that a variety has wide adaptability means that it will grow very well in most parts of the country , but that doesn't mean the variety is the best. It depends on your judging criteria. Most AAS winners do not stick around for the long haul. You might see them available for 3 or 4 years or 8 or 10. I think I read somewhere years ago that the typical AAS variety is only widely available for about 3 years. Only the very best ones build such a large following that they endure for many years and even many decades. The appeal of the AAS winners is that they have been trialed extensively so they have the best chance of performing well in any given area. I like to try the AAS winners most years just for the fun of experimenting with something new. Sometimes a new AAS winner really surprises me....Profusion Zinnia was one that surprised me by its incredible beauty, vigor and ability to grow and bloom in our worst drought conditions here. There also are disappointments, including tomato "Husky Gold", which sounded great when they promoted it but when grown in the real world never caught on very well because it had incredibly tough skin. The Husky Gold plants (and this is true of the entire Husky series) are very beautiful, are vigorous growers and are very disease tolerant. However, I don't grow tomato varieties based on their beauty or disease tolerance, but rather for the tomato's flavor and texture, and in that area it was only so-so. I think that the type of person who like to try new things is the type AAS varieties are aimed at. For those persons who like to grow the same tried and true varieties year in and year out, the AAS varieties might have less appeal. Sometimes I don't grow the AAS varieties their first year, but instead wait a couple of years to see what real people think of them and their performance in their gardens. It just happens that this year's AAS winners group has two tomato varieties (VERY rare to have two tomatoes in one year), a watermelon variety and a salvia variety that I think sound interesting. Dawn

I love my Bolero. Shiny dark green leaves, nice round bush and a steady bloomer. It's so fragrant too. I recall when I was a newlywed my father-in-law growing Miss All American Beauty. I was not aware of roses back then. I think I remember that the rose was previously called Maria Callas.

No clue on the name, but beautiful flowers. I can sort of smell it on through my computer screen! Jane