Park Seed Company Gardens
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The national headquarters for Park Seed Company, Jackson & Perkins, and Wayside Gardens is located in Greenwood, South Carolina. The headquarters complex is surrounded by 9 acres (36,000 m2) of land that are maintained by the Park Seed Company for many purposes. The trial gardens previously featured on the grounds closed in 2013 as the company shifted to a fully eCommerce based retail platform.
Park Seed Company's annual Flower Day was a day each year when the company's professional horticulturists give guided tours of the gardens. In 1967, Flower Day gave rise to the South Carolina Festival of Flowers, which through the years has become a three-week-long celebration encompassing garden tours, art and photography competitions, a triathlon, and numerous other cultural and recreational activities.
Park Seed Trial Garden
[edit]The Park Seed Trial Garden provided a living laboratory where Park Seed Company's research horticulturists compared the quality of industry standard plants with new varieties being offered by plant developers. Each year, Park Seed Company conducted trials on more than 2,000 varieties, all hand planted and tended. Trials run January through August for warm season annuals, October through February for cool season annuals, and all year long for permanent plantings of perennials. Park Seed's trial garden is part of the prestigious All-America Selections (AAS) program. Park Seed Company has been very active with AAS since the mid-1950s. Park Seed staff horticultural experts frequently serve as AAS judges, and five Park Seed executives have served as AAS president. The trial gardens and on-site retail store closed in 2013.
Park Seed Garden Gallery
[edit]This gallery of garden photographs provides a sense of the range and beauty of the Park Seed Company Gardens.
See also
[edit]List of botanical gardens in the United States
External links
[edit]- www.parkseed.com[permanent dead link]—Retail Site
- Park Seed Journal—Blog
- www.waysidegardens.com[permanent dead link]—Retail Site
- Wayside Gardens Voices[permanent dead link]—Blog
- South Carolina Festival of Flowers