New Annual Varieties from Cultivate '25 and Penn State Trials

 July was a busy month, ordering varieties of plants for our farm to grow next year and connecting with our other growers.

Our team at Cultivate: Tim, Carrie, Jen, and John

Cultivate '25 is an international trade show and educational event held in Columbus, Ohio. Valley View Farms sent four key people: John, our grower, Tim, our GM, Jen, buyer for seeds, herbs, and annuals, and me. We met several times during the event, then went our separate ways according to our interests. Important to all four of us was the New Plants Showcase and the companies that breed and produce many of them.

Leave a comment about any plants that you find particularly interesting. 

Many new houseplants are entering the market as interest remains for this group of plants

Perennial flowering and foliage plants 

New introductions from Hilverda

Ball FloraPlant is a primary supplier for our greenhouse

Plants Nouveau brings many plants to market, including Hydrangeas

Terra Nova is a source for our perennial growers

AAS tests varieties in nationwide trials

After 3 days at Cultivate and hundreds of photos later, we head to Penn State's Annual Field Trials in Landisville to compare the many new plants in 'real world' conditions of weather. John went a week ahead of us. We came back with the same conclusions about the plants we were judging. You'll see some of these and more in 2026!

Yelena and Leah joined me in evaluating the flower trial

Looking for combinations to grow in our larger pots

Many Sunbeckias were trialed. We've sold them this summer.

Many, many coleus varieties looked beautiful! 

Ageratum Monarch Magic lives up to its name.

New colors of Vnca were on display.

We love the ruffled petals of this vinca.

A look across the trial field. 

Amazing tropical colors!

Lots of Calibrachoa and Petunias!

Nice summer combo

New colors of popular Sunpatiens

Impatiens and begonias are grown in shade and sun for comparison. Most did equally well.

Our job isn't finished yet. John will work to find the plants we have asked for from growers, marketers, and breeders and schedule them for growing in 2026. 

 We would love your feedback on what you are looking for in next year's garden for containers and color. 

Basil Recipes

 It’s Good to be the King

I am probably one of the few people who do not rush out to the garden for fresh basil at every meal. I'd rather get the dried basil than go outside in this heat and humidity just for a handful of basil.

Despite this quirk, if someone asks me what herbs I like, basil is undoubtedly the first I list and reigns as the King in my garden. After freezing and drying, what else is there to do with basil? Realistically, how much pesto can you store in your freezer, fridge, and pantry? Okay, a lot! But here are a few other ideas for using up your basil.

Infused Oils and Vinegars

Infused oils and vinegars are simple to make, taste great and even make great gifts during the holidays. Pair an infused oil with some delicious crusty bread for dipping, or an infused vinegar with some salad tongs and bowl!

Tuscan Butter

Tuscan Butter

I just made this for lunch this week. It's basil, garlic, and sundried tomatoes in butter. Spread on crackers…YUM! And it can be frozen for use later. I'm thinking of trying it on spaghetti squash next, or maybe zucchini noodles! Pro tip: don't follow a recipe-just go to taste! The recipe I used needed more basil and sundried tomatoes for me; I may have added extra garlic to begin with.

Raspberry Basil Sorbet

Raspberries are ready at Shaw's Orchard, and I stopped after work to pick some. I'm not a fan of raspberry seeds, but I ran them through the juicer, mixed them with basil simple syrup, and then froze.

Simple syrup is simple! It is 1 part sugar to 1 part liquid, boiled down to a thicker consistency. And I know there is an easier way to do this, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't make it a bit difficult. I place basil and water in a small crockpot and leave it on warm, usually for a day. I am a firm believer that gentle heat and a cover make a better infusion, especially with aromatic herbs such as basil. This also produces a lot of basil-infused water that freezes much better than simple syrup and allows me to enjoy it all winter long!

To finish the simple syrup, mix the infused water with sugar and boil it down. Or just add the basil-infused ice to ¼ cup pureed watermelon and a small can of Sprite for a quick spritzer!

Tea

Tulsi Tea

Culinary herbs were familiar to me when I started working at Valley View, but holy basil, or tulsi, was something that I had never heard of. It quickly became one that I talked about to everyone who would listen.

Holy basil falls under the term of adaptogen, a type of herb that helps to regulate stress in your body. How wonderful is that?!

I used holy basil, peach, and sage to make a nourishing infusion. Basically, I steep them in hot water and allow them to cool. I usually just let it sit overnight and strain it in the morning. To drink, I mix about 1/4 cup with a small can of club soda to make it bubbly. Pro tip: a little sage goes a LONG way. I was originally planning to use lemon balm, but couldn't find it in the cabinet when I looked. Of course, I found it the next morning!

Tulsi Tea

I have a couple more recipes that I want to try. One recipe is for peach bread with basil that I am going to foist onto my coworkers to see if it is any good. So, what are you planning on doing with your basil?

Written and photographed by guest blogger, Jen Kostick.

Summer Garden Tours in Columbus with GardenComm

 July 12 Tours with GardenComm in Columbus, OH

Access to the backyard among an oasis of green

We met early on, expecting another day with temperatures in the '90s. Sessions Village is a gated community in Bexley, a suburb of Columbus. The architecture, featuring stone, cobblestone, brick, and other materials, felt old and timeless. A strong garden club presence helped the residents plan and maintain their gardens. Hedge and espalier trimming was contracted to a pruning specialist, but most of the other designs and plantings were the work of the homeowners. 

Stone, gates, plants, and ponds were all a part of this community. 

Several of the homes featured water gardens

Espaliered pears ran the length of outdoor walls

Formal gardens highlighted patio spaces featuring hydrangeas and roses

A Japanese maple and hosta frame a beautiful pond and waterfall

A stop at another area garden featured a wall-enclosed backyard. But the highlight of the stop was hearing from Dr. Allen Armitage about how storytelling enhances our social and other media postings. 

Dr. Armitage connects with GardenComm

Mezzacello is an urban farm that embraces science, robotics, plants, ponds, and animals to teach STEM to students in the area. The city corner lot uses computers, energy-creating turbines, and tools for students to create and maintain the farming space. 

A passion for teaching 

A chicken coop from found materials

A garden with sheds housing rabbits, ducks, and chickens

Gardens for pollinators

Showing us various uses for the pond, including water filtration

Our last stop of the day was the Franklin Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. Stunning displays, a Chihuly Glass installation, and remarkable Lego creations were around every corner. A storm kept me from seeing the Botanical Gardens outside, leaving me reason to revisit.

I highly recommend a visit

Summer heat-loving annuals 

Indoor wall of Philodendron Brasil

Bonsai show 

Rooftop plaza

View from the plaza

Orange tree, lantana, dipladenia

Life-sized Lego sculpture

One of 18 Chihuly glass sculptures

Lovely sight and sound of water movement

Indoor pond

After a day full of fun, I headed back to get ready for Cultivate '25 tomorrow, which I will attend with my Valley View Farms workmates. 

Thank you to GardenComm for the tours, meal arrangements, and leadership. Also, thanks to our sponsors Proven Winners Color Choice shrubs, Twixwood Nursery, Dramm, Upshoot Gardens, and The Mid-Ohio Farm Collective. 

 July 10-11, 2025 Cultivate'25 and GardenComm Mega Connect

Some of the tour group for GardenComm, day 1

Decades ago, I joined Garden Writers, now known as GardenComm, a group of garden writers and communicators who network, educate, and support one another in sharing the joys of gardening. AmericanHort's Cultivate '25 is a national trade show and educational event held in Columbus, Ohio, designed to support garden centers, growers, garden educators, and other professionals in the horticultural industry. This year, the organizations' annual meetings overlapped, and I was able to attend tours, events, educational classes, plant trials, and a trade show, taking advantage of opportunities by both groups.

I drove with my friend, Kathy Jentz, a garden podcaster, publisher, magazine editor, author, and fellow garden communicator. We stopped at Dawes Arboretum, a two-thousand-acre public garden in Newark, Ohio. Japanese gardens, sample vegetable gardens, beautiful trees, and perennial plantings were accessible and beautiful. Here are a few photos of the area. 

The following morning, we got up early to view the Chadwick Arboretum on The Ohio State University campus. Trials of annuals and display gardens of perennials were outside the horticulture building, which we were able to photograph and judge for beauty and adaptability in a home garden. 

Flower Trials

New varieties are compared and judged for garden suitability

Kathy Jentz

We picked up Teri Spieght, award-winning author and an incredible presence in all her horticultural endeavors, and Natalie Carmolli, Proven Winners' Garden P R and Marketing Specialist, and went to the Governor's Residence, where we met other GardenComm members.  We were shown several gardens that interpreted various areas in Ohio using primarily native plants. A cutting garden and medicinal garden were included in the Governor's landscape. 

Tour organizers

Some of our GardenComm members

The cut flower and pollinator garden

Our next stop was a private home where we saw the work of Columbus Foodscapes' Katie Carey. Later,
we met at Katie's home, where she shared her hillside garden in an urban area with our group. 

Katie shares her story

She creates garden spaces for clients

Katie grows edibles at her urban home 

We toured Highland Youth Gardens, which reminded me a lot of what Farmy Chippy has done in Baltimore, creating gardens and spaces from once-abandoned city lots.  Children from a neighboring middle school assist in cultivation and harvest. Food produced is given away to those who want it every week. 

The back entrance of the garden is just off the street

Members of the tour, Teri and Denise, listen to our garden host

Students from the school across the street learn from the garden

Shady spaces are created by the grape arbor

We all met for our annual awards dinner in the evening. I was very proud that two of my friends won Gold Laurel Awards from GardenComm!

Teresa Speight won Gold for her book Black Flora

Kathy Jentz won Gold for Digital Media for her program Reduce Your Lawn Day

Day 1 of our meet-up was fantastic!

Look for Day 2 later this week.