BATON ROUGE, La. – Voting is open from now until the end of September for garden enthusiasts to vote for their favorite flower at the All-America Selections Display Garden at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden.

Winners will be announced in early October, said Jeff Kuehny, resident director at Burden.

“The All-America Display Garden is planted with vegetables and ornamentals that have been trialed across the United States and found to be reliable new plant varieties that work for home gardeners across America,” Kuehny said.

The four entries are impatiens SunPatiens Compact Electric Orange; petunia Surfinia Summer; Double Pink; verbena Lanai Candy Cane; and zinnia Zahara Cherry.

There are trhree ways to vote for your favorite flower:

– Go to the American Garden Award website and click on your favorite flower.

– Visit the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens and text your vote using the special voting codes found on the signs in the garden.

– Use the prepaid postcard ballots found at the Botanic Gardens.

“The American Garden Award is a unique opportunity for the public to view, choose and vote on a specific flower that they think has the most appealing garden characteristics,” Kuehny said. “Each of the four contestants listed is now planted in our garden.”

The Botanic Gardens at Burden provide the Southern home gardener with a first-hand look at these top performers, he said.

“After winning first place in the American Garden Award Design Contest in 2013, the Burden All-America Display Garden is a wonderful source for garden enthusiasts to visit and become inspired,” Kuehny said.

These four flower varieties have recently been introduced to the market “so they are available at retail and may make a perfect Mother’s Day gift,” he said.

Kuehny said the Botanic Gardens at Burden is one of 32 display gardens across North America.

The garden is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located on the right side of the main road next to the Children’s Garden at Burden.

For more information call Kuehny at 225-763-3990.

Johnny Morgan