Hundreds of crabapple varieties. More than 13,000 daffodil forms. Over 80,000 daylily varieties. These days it can seem downright impossible to just pick a blankety-blank plant for that blankety-blank spot where some other blankety-blank thing died last year.
Yes, the more popular gardening becomes and the more we yearn for new plants, the more breeders comply and make the situation even worse.
It’s a vicious and glorious cycle. But there are lots of sources of help out there.
There are online garden blogs (buyer beware!), newspaper garden columns (ahem ...), books and videos. You can ask gardening friends or walk your local botanical garden for help. But one of the best sources to help you cut through the oversupply of information is to look for local plant award programs.