What's New in 2026
About the Trial Gardens: The Trial Gardens have been in existence since 1982, and we have been trialing annuals and perennials from nearly all the “mainstream” breeders in the world as well as many excellent “independent” breeders. Data on all plants are provided through the website http://ugatrial.hort.uga.edu/. We can deliver information in real-time so that as data is taken, it can immediately go online. Photos and information on new plants appear throughout the season and are provided by email newsletter, our website, Instagram, and Facebook.
As a teaching facility, the garden allows students to learn about the myriad of annual and perennial species and study the different growth habits, tolerances, and uses of herbaceous material. Students can also learn about those elusive terms called quality and performance by viewing the good, the bad, and the ugly under real-life conditions.
The Trial Gardens are a great training ground for our students. The garden is used by faculty from Arts and Sciences, Entomology, Landscape Architecture, Plant Biology, Plant Pathology, etc. We offer a class entitled “Trial Garden Internship” where students have the opportunity to learn how a public garden operates.
Sandy and Dr. Ruter are assisted by Mrs. BJ Garrett, and dozens of Master Gardeners and volunteers who work tirelessly to coordinate our annual Spring Plant Sale. Our undergraduate and graduate students, interns, and staff keep the facility operational year-round. Be sure to say hello to all the students and our volunteers!
What is New:
Terrace Garden: Our new Terrace wall was built by CollegePro Landscaping to improve the hill on the left side of the garden’s perimeter. This new design provides a display garden for award-winners, better access to planting spaces, and reduces erosion. Enjoy the spring poppies, garden heirlooms, and a new ever-changing floral design!
Engage Georgia Volunteers: The University of Georgia provides service-learning opportunities for every student, and the UGA Trial Garden is now an official site for student volunteers to sign up and complete their volunteer credits! By partnering with hundreds of courses from around campus, we will be able to share and educate students about our trials and foster a love of gardening in future generations.
Armi’s Army: Are you, or do you know someone who majored in Horticulture in the 1980’s through 2000’s here at UGA? If so, your photo may be in our Armi’s Army collection. An Environmental Literature course is helping us to reach out to those in our photos who have a story to tell about the Trial Garden. We hope this project will show what an impact our garden has had on the Horticulture and Green Industries at large.
Southeast Green Conference After Hours Social: For many years, the Georgia Green Industry Association held their annual conference in Athens, GA, and they are back in 2026! Join us for refreshments and a stroll on Tuesday, June 9th. Register at www.southeastgreen.org/
Website: We are extremely proud to announce our website has received an upgrade! Thanks to Timothy, and his team at Clarity Connect, our new site will allow better photo downloading capabilities, data presentation, and mobile responsiveness. After many years of fundraising, we finally reached our goal. Thanks to all who participated in our Trial Garden survey, and we look forward to publishing the results.
Plants in the UGA Trial Garden:
Perennials: Our Perennial Gardens, Rose Garden, and Desert are brimming with new life, thanks to Dr. Ruter’s new additions and additions from our Perennial trials. Our graduate curator, Tanner is in the process of getting all beds labelled and mapped in the Hortis database!
Annuals: Look at all the colors in about 6400 sq. ft. of beds – pretty intense! As always, the petunias are currently stealing the show, but many new and exciting offerings are showing color early in the season.
New Plants from Dr. Ruter: Many of the plants in the garden this year are unique plants that Dr. Ruter has brought in for evaluation or are from his active breeding program at the Horticulture Farm in Watkinsville, GA. Take a look at several of the beds for new selections. Most of these plants are proprietary, especially if they have “Ruter” on the label. Always be sure to get permission before any cuttings are taken! Genera currently being bred include Abutilon, Acer, Agapanthus, Baptisia, Camellia, Helianthus, Heliopsis, Hibiscus, Ilex, Kniphofia, Lagerstroemia, Pavonia, Plectranthus, Prunus, Rhaphiolepis, Salvia, Thermopsis, and numerous conifers and miscellaneous genera. Please let Dr. Ruter know if you would like to discuss his plant breeding projects with him or new ideas you might have for cooperation. A few species remain from our South African trials.
Plant Sales
We host an Annual Spring Plant Sale, as well as Pop-up Houseplant sales throughout the year! This past year we held a Valentine’s Sale, a Spring Plant Sale, an Open House Sale, a Fall Houseplant Sale, and a Holiday Market! A local donor provides antiques collected from around the region for Bj to fill with succulents and flowering combos. Follow our Listserv and social media accounts for event updates.
Getting Around the Garden:
The gardens extend the entire way around the greenhouses. Plants and their locations are cross-referenced in the booklet. Enjoy your visit at any time of the year.
The Garden Beds: (Beds 1-24) All beds are numbered in the garden & booklet. All plants within each bed are listed.
The Containers: All containers are labeled with the name of the plant(s) and the row with which they are associated.
The Hanging Baskets: They are also labeled with the name of the plant(s) and the row with which they are associated.
Around the side (east side of the greenhouse): (Bed 25) The long narrow bed has dozens of plants from Dr. Ruter’s collections. Several seed trials of Monarda and Helianthus mollis were planted in 2020 and only the tough survive. Monarda bradburiana has been the winner so far.
In front of the Greenhouses: (Beds 26-27) Roses and various new low-water perennials for your viewing.
Data: This is an actual research garden, and data for all plants are taken monthly and are available on the web. The annual trials were planted from mid-April to late May. Data will be taken on over 300 entries in 2026. Based on flowering, foliage, uniformity of habit and flower, resistance to insects and diseases, and overall appearance, performance ratings are collected, allowing us to follow the performance of each cultivar through “good times and bad.” We also include the best plants at any time; as we send out our “Plants of Distinction.” At the end of the season, we honor “the Best of the Best” in various plant classes as well as our “Classic City Awards” - plants that have been the most outstanding throughout the long summer.
Staying Abreast of What we do: If we have your email, you should receive our “Plants of Distinction” and be made aware of columns and videos of unique plants in the garden. Follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/trialgardens.uga/) and Instagram @trialgardens. Look for our award winning plant posts throughout the growing season.
Lastly, our garden is simply a pleasant place to spend a little time away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Each year improvements in the garden make it a prettier place to be. Have fun!
And Finally - Thanks
Many thanks to all who supplied trial plant material to the garden. Your trials allow our program to continue, and your ongoing support is much appreciated.
Steve Jarahian & Jolly Gardener Media Jolly Gardener (Oldcastle) has become our “go-to” soil substrate for everything we do, including propagation, growing on, and garden display. Every plant in our baskets and containers in the garden is grown in Pro-Line mixes. Due to a shortage of peat moss in the industry, our substrates have HydraFiber added as an amendment. This mix has worked great in this hot, dry climate and has reduced our container watering needs.
Western Pulp Products Individual plants grow better in paper pulp pots! Why do you ask? – it is due to better drainage, increased aeration, and lower substrate temperatures. We appreciate the donation of hanging baskets for the Trial Gardens and will miss our good friend and supporter Mr. Jim Lee.
Ball Horticulture, Classic Caladiums, Dummen, Heuger, American Takii, and Syngenta for donating additional plants for display in the gardens or our student projects and our annual plant sale. Your support is essential to our survival.
Special Thanks to our students who have worked for us at various times during the past year and all of whom make this place look as good and weed-free as possible. Funds received from trialing your plants support four students working part-time during the year. We appreciate our students helping us to keep everything watered this summer.
Additional special thanks to the many gardeners who volunteered to help us sow, transplant, plant, weed, fertilize, deadhead and water. They have provided us with tremendous assistance, for which we are grateful. Volunteer assistance is essential to the daily operation of the Trial Gardens. Our volunteers annually donate many hours to the garden (the equivalent of two full-time positions).
Be sure to visit the garden often, in person, or on the web at www.ugatrial.hort.uga.edu.
If you would like to have a plant or plants trialed here in the future, please contact Dr. Ruter (ruter@uga.edu) or Sandy Begani (sbegani@uga.edu).
