2013 Cercis Canadensis

Winner: Cercis Canadensis Eastern redbud

Nominated by: Kita Reese, Garden Club of Mt. Desert, Zone I

Honorable Mention: Nyssa sylvatica  Black Tupelo

Nominated by: Provisionals of the Millbrook Garden Club, Zone III

Special Recognition: Torreya taxifolia Stinking Cedar

Nominated by: The Nashville Garden Club, Zone VI

2012 Muhlenbergia capillaris

Winner: Muhlenbergia capillaris

Nominated by: the Naples Botanical Garden, Brian Holley, Director, Naples, FL

Endorsed by: The Garden Club of Halifax Country, Zone VIII

2011 Abies concolor

Winner:  Abies concolor

Nominated by: Provisional Members, 2008, Akron Garden Club, Zone X

Special Recognition:  Pinus palustris

Nominated by: Jane Perry McFadden, Palmetto Garden Club, Zone VIII

2010 Spigelia marilandica

Winner: Spigelia marilandica  Indian Pink

Nominated by: Barbara Gould, Hardy Garden Club, Zone VI

Honorable Mention: Sibbaldiopsis tridentata  Wineleaf Cinquefoil

Nominated by: Beazie Larned, Stamford Garden Club, Zone II

2009 Baptisia 'Purple Smoke'

Winner:  Baptisia  'Purple Smoke'

Nominated by: Lili Ouzts and Mercer Brokenbrough Davis, Junior Ladies Garden Club, Zone VIII

Honorable Mention:  Rododendron vaseyi  'Pink Shell Azalea"

Nominated by: Ellen Petersen, Millbrook Garden Club, Zone III

2008 Garrya elliptica

Winner:  Garrya elliptica  'James Roof'

Nominated by: Carmel-by-the-Sea Garden Club, Zone XII

Written by: Diana Fish for club submission

Honorable Mention:  Illicium floridanum  Ellis

Nominated by: Susan P. Treadway, Garden Club of Philadelphia, Zone V

2007 Viburnum nudum

Winner:  Viburnum nudum  'Winterthur'  Smooth Winterod

Nominated by: Barbara B. Shea, Green Spring Valley Garden Club, Zone VI

2006 Wisteria frutescens

Winner:  Wisteria frutescens  American wisteria

Nominated by: Anne Segrest and Lili Ouzts, Junior Ladies Garden Club, Zone VIII and Jeff Lewis, Director, State Botanical Garden of Georgia

2005 Betula nigra

Winner:  Betula nigra  'Little King' Fox Valley (TM) River Birch

Introduced by: Chicagoland Grows, 1991

Nominated by: Westy Lovejoy, Piscataqua Gaarden Club, Zone I

Honorable Mentions:

Wisteria frutescens  American wisteria

Nominated by: Anne Segrest and Lili Ouzts, Junior Ladies Garden Club, Zone VIII

Amelanchier canadensis  'Glenform' PP9092, Rainbow Pillar ® Serviceberry

Nominated by: Dedee O'Neil, Akron Garden Club, Zone X

Special Recognition: Iris douglasiana 'Canyon Snow' Douglas Iris 'Canyon Snow'

Nominated by: Jessie Schilling, Woodside-Atherton Garden Club, Zone XII

2004 Ulmus americana

Winner:  Ulmus americana  'Princeton'

Nominated by: Garden Club of Chevy Chase, Zone VI

Honorable Mention:  Itea virginica 'Henry's Garnet'

Nominated by: Carolina Foothills Garden Club, Zone VIII and the River Oaks Garden Club, Zone IX

2003 Cladrastis kentukea (lutea)

Winner:  Cladrastis kentukea (lutea)  American Yellowwood

Nominated by: Michael Berkley, Growild, Inc., Fairview, TN

Endorsed by: The Garden Club of Nashville, Zone IX

Honorable Mentions:

Aster laevis  'Bluebird'

Introduced by: Mt. Cuba Center

Nominated by: Kathy Kristol, Garden Club of Wilmington, Zone V

Cornus florida 'Appalachian Spring'

Introduced by: the University of Tennessee

Nominated by: Mary Nell Farmer, Knoxville Garden Club, Zone IX

Special Recognition:  Heteromeles arbutifolia

Nominated by: Fran Neumann and Cathy Tosetti, Diggers Garden Club, Pasadena, CA, Zone XII

2002 Thuja plicata

Winner:  Thuja plicata

Nominated by:  Katie Heins, Zone IV Representative to the Horticulture Committee, Stony Brook Garden Club, Zone IV

Honorable Mention:  Itea virginica

Nominated by:  Pedrick Lowrey, Carolina Foothills Garden Club, Zone VIII and by Bitsey Hail, River Oaks Garden Club, Zone IX

Honorable Mention:  Chionanthus virginicus

Nominated by:  Kenny Powell, Little Garden Club of Birmingham, Zone VIII

Special Recoginition:  Franklinia alatamaha

Nominated by:  Philadelphia Committee of GCA, Zone V and Historic Bartram's Garden

2001 Acer pensylvanicum

Winner:  Acer pensylvanicum

Nominated by:  Joanne Lenden, Ft. Orange Garden Club, Zone III, Betsy Whitman, Garden Club of Englewood, and Essex County Adirondack Garden Club, Zone III, Bill Pollard, Rocky Dale Gardens, Bristol, VT

Honorable Mention:  Ilex Sparkleberry

Nominated by:  Joanne Lenden and Audrey Hawkins, Ft. Orange Garden Club, Zone III

Honorable Mention:  Viburnum bracteatum 'Emerald Lustre'

Nominated by:  Lili Rogers Outzts, Junior Ladies Garden Club, Zone VIII

2000 Taxodium distichum

Winner:  Taxodium distichum

Nominated by LeRoy Simpkins, Augusta, GA

Endorsed by:  Sand Hills Garden Club, Zone VIII

Honorable Mention:  Cladrastris lutea

Nominated by Michael Berkely, Growild, Fairview, TN

Endorsed by:  Garden Club of Nashville, Zone IX

Honorable Mention:  Franklinia alatamaha

Nominated by:  Martha Lee Wolf, Historic Bartram's Garden

Endorsed by:  The Garden Workers, Zone V

1999 Aesculus parviflora

Winner:  Aesculus parviflora

Nominated by:  Fred Spicer, Manager of Horticulture, Morristown, PA Park Commission

Endorsed by:  Garden Club of Morristown, Zone IV

Honorable Mention:  Hibiscus 'Moy Grande'

Nominated by:  Ying Doon Moy, San Antonio Botanic garden, San Antonio, TX

Endorsed by:  Alamo Heights-Terrell Hills Garden Club, Zone IX

Honorable Mention:  Lobelia cardinalis

Nominated by:  Mrs. John P. Kauffman, Garden Club of Darien, Zone II

1998 Cotinus obovatus

Winner:  Cotinus obovatus

Nominated by:  Don Shadow, Winchester, TN

Endorsed by:  Cherokee Garden Club, Zone VIII

Honorable Mention:  Aesculus parviflora

Nominated by:  Fred Spicer, Manager of Horticulture, Morristown, PA Park Commission

Endorsed by:  Garden Club of Morristown, Zone IV

Honorable Mention:  Aquilegia canadensis 'Corbett'

Nominated by:  St. George's Garden Club, Zone VI

1997 Carpenteria californica

Winner:  Carpenteria californica  'Elizabeth'

Nominated by:  The Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation, Santa Barbara, CA

Endorsed by:  Garden Club of Santa Barbara, Zone XII

Honorable Mention:  Hibiscus  'Moy Grande'

Nominated by:  Ying Doon Moy, San Antonio Botanic Garden, San Antonio, TX

Endorsed by:  Alamo Heights-Terrell Hills Garden Club, Zone IX

Honorable Mention:  Vaccinium 'Northblue'

Nominated by:  Dr. James Luby, University of Minnesota

Endorsed by:  St. Paul Garden Club, Zone XI

1996 Magnolia virginiana

Winner:  Magnolia virginiana

Nominated by:  The New England Wildflower Society and the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts

Endorsed by:  Mrs. Edward N. Dane, North Shore Garden Club, MA, Zone I

Honorable Mention:  Asimina triloba

Nominated by:  Christopher Daeger, Rowe Arboretum, Cincinnati, OH

Endorsed by:  Garden Club of Cincinnati, Zone X

Honorable Mention:  Rhododendron 'Northern Hi-Lights'

Nominated by:  Dr. Harold Pellett, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Twin Cities Campus

Endorsed by:  St. Paul Garden Club, Zone XI

1995 Rhododendron prunifolium

Winner:  Rhododendron prunifolium

Nominated by:  Dr. William E. Barrick, Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, GA

Endorsed by:  Mrs. Bayard M. Tynes, Red Mountain Garden Club, Birmingham, AL, Zone VIII

Honorable Mention:  Ceanothus 'Blue Cascade'

Nominated by Bart O'Brien, Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Claremont, CA

Endorsed by:  Diggers Garden Club, Zone XII

Honorable Mention:  Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snowflake'

Nominated by:  Mrs. John N. Wrinkle, Little Garden Club of Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, Zone VIII