Retailers Choice award winners announced for Farwest Show 2025

Every year, new plant introductions and products vie for attention at the Farwest Show. This year, the best of the best were given Retailer's Choice Awards by a jury of volunteer garden retailers.

The awards were given on August 21 at the Farwest Show in Portland, Oregon, in a presentation emceed by Danny Summers, managing director of The Garden Center Group. Both live goods and hard goods were eligible.

© Farwest Show

Ball Seed and Monrovia each had two selections honored, and Proven Winners had three. The judges picked several plants with black/dark foliage colors, which could be indicative of a developing "goth garden" trend, Summers said. The same trend appeared at the Retailer's Choice Awards at Cultivate, he said.

Winners
Ruby Ruffle Patio Peach, developed by the JC Raulston Arboretum at North Carolina State University, offered by Alpha Nursery (Salem, Oregon) and part of the Star Roses & Plants Bloomables collection, is a compact ornamental tree that blooms with clusters of dark pink, ruffled flowers in the spring, followed by burgundy foliage with wavy edges. This selection is perfect for patio containers.

Dahlia Venti Fireburst, offered by Ball Seed (Chicago, Illinois), is a red Dahlia that is more red than Fireball, with a bigger anemone "burst" flower pattern.

Centaurea Silver Swirl, coming from Ball Seed, has distinctive silvery white foliage with wavy leaf edges and offers better winter hardiness and is ideal for combination plantings and front-of-the-border plantings.

Edge of Night Mondo Grass, offered by Iseli Nursery (Boring, Oregon), is a form of black mondo grass with a very narrow white stripe that runs down the outside of each blade-like leaf, providing a subtle contrast with the predominant shiny black color.

Winter Moonbeam Hellebore, out of Meridian Young Plants (Lynden, Washington), has deep green leaves that are variegated and intricately veined in silver-grey.

Pink Spike Snakeroot, developed by Monrovia (Dayton, Oregon), has chocolate-purple foliage with long, slender, light pink flower spikes in the late summer and fall.

Dark Fire Montbretia from Monrovia has smoky purple-green foliage that gives this plant a moody air before going ablaze with red and yellow bi-color flowers in summer. It's a vigorous, clump-forming perennial that is adored by hummingbirds.

Growth Technology GT Focus range of plant fertilizers offered by PlantHaul of Tustin, California.

Kodiak Jet Black Diervilla, offered by Proven Winners (DeKalb, Illinois), is a tough, easy-growing shrub and is a standout with its dark burgundy-black foliage. The color is especially intense in spring and autumn. The bright yellow flowers add contrast in early summer.

Buddleia Moptop Fountain Butterfly Bush, offered by Proven Winners, has a fountain habit with long, weeping branches covered in clusters of pale purple flowers. Unlike other butterfly bushes, this one blooms in the spring.

Sweet Caroline Shadowstorm Ornamental Sweet Potato Vine, offered by Proven Winners, has heart-shaped, near-black leaves that are speckled with green and the plant is fuller, so you won't need to continually trim to prevent it from getting scraggly as it grows.

Funky Flow Mahonia, offered by Star Roses and Plants (West Grove, Pennsylvania), is a vibrant, compact evergreen with bright green spring foliage that matures to a deep, glossy hue just in time for summer. It has a pop of neon yellow flowers through the winter.

SaucR offered by Treleaf (Acworth, Georgia), is a leafy twist on plant pot saucers. They come in the shape of a leaf or lily pad in various sizes and colors. The veins on the drip trays prevent the pot from standing in water

MoonShadow Morello Hardy Hibiscus, offered by Van Belle Youngplants (Abbotsford, British Columbia) has big, juicy raspberry-red blooms that pop against deep purple-black foliage.

Camelia sinensis 'Yellow Tea', offered by Youngblood Nursery (Salem, Oregon), is a small shrub that grows to 6' with shiny green and yellow variegated leaves and small yellow flowers.