National Garden Bureau, the non-profit organization that promotes gardening on behalf of the horticulture industry, has announced the three crops it will feature in its 2012 “Year of the” program. For annual flowers, it will be geranium. For vegetables/edibles, it will be herbs, which will be promoted in partnership with the Herb Society of America. For the first time NGB is including a perennial in the program, which will be heuchera.
NGB selected crops that are easy to grow and genetically diverse with many new varieties to choose from. Breeders, growers, brokers and garden centers are urged to consider these flowers and plants when planning for the 2012 season as the publicity generated from this program is substantial.
Later this summer, the NGB website will host photos of numerous varieties of all three crops, provided by its members. This fall, NGB will post online pdf fact sheets, flyers, handouts, signage etc. Both the photos and POP materials can be downloaded at no charge from the website.
For more information about “Year of the” program or NGB stop by booth No. 1935 at the OFA Short Course, July 9-12, in Columbus, Ohio. Announcements about the plants to garden writers will begin at the Garden Writers Association Symposium, August 26-29, in Indianapolis. Consumer publicity will begin in January 2012.