Last Friday was P. Allen Smith Day hosted by Churchills. Every year they sponsor a trip to Pleasant View Gardens in Loudon, NH where plants are grown for the Proven Winners brand. I know we are all familiar with their beautiful blooms at garden centers. Various growers around the country produce Proven Winners. This facility specializes in annuals.

P. Allen Smith was on hand to give a talk on container gardening and to promote Proven Winners plants which he is a huge fan of. He is a noted television host, designer, gardening and lifestyle expert. His two public television programs are P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home and P. Allen Smith’s Garden to Table. Smith is one of America’s most recognized garden and design experts, providing ideas and inspiration through multiple media venues.

It was a very interesting tour of the facilities and lovely show gardens capped by a box lunch. The plants are grown in a giant state-of-the-art green house that uses renewable energy. Very impressive. Too bad sales are restricted to the trade. You have to go to your local retailer to buy these plants. They did give all the visitors one to take home, though – a pretty verbena with peach colored flowers. Proven Winners calls their line of verbenas Superbena. Max and Nance went along for the ride. Take a look:

Petunia tower in the show gardens.  All you need a some chicken wire an a massive pile of dirt!

Beautiful lantana & heuchera.

The greenhouse roof lets in the sunshine.

Planters ready to ship from the massive green house.

Here’s a giant hibiscus called Cranberry Crush.

Visitors inspect the green house which is open to the public only on this special day.

Giant begonias.

Impressive hanging basket display in front of the factory sized greenhouse.

Don’t you love the white ring around the green center?

Grasses growing here! Note the watering holes in the floor. The plants are watered by flooding the floor instead of showering overhead.

Downy mildew resistant impatiens thrive in the show garden.

Photo Funnies! Not everything there was a proven winner!