By Heide Dolan, Colorado Master Gardener

As winter draws to a close and we are quite done with all things drab, the garden becomes an open palette to add the color we crave. As an official All-America Selections® display garden and trial ground, the CSU Flower Trial Gardens are continually busy planning, selecting and growing the best and the brightest plants to complement your gardens. Plant companies from all over the world submit entries. Both annuals and perennials are evaluated for plant vigor, uniformity, floriferousness and hardiness. Before meandering down to your local garden center, take a peek at six CSU Trial Garden 2025 superstars that caught our eye.

Let’s start with annual container superstar, Superbells Magic ‘Double Grapefruit’ from Proven Winners. Trial garden staff gave this calibrachoa (Calibrachoa x hybrida) a big thumbs up for its gorgeous double flowers that start out yellow and morph into pink, grapefruit-like colors. Having three different colors on one plant all season long is magnificent. ‘Double Grapefruit’ displays a beautiful mounding habit, far outlasting other calibrachoas in the trials. A low maintenance plant, no deadheading is required!

With a name like ‘All That Lava’ this coleus (Coleus scutellarioides) from Kientzler North America really blew up the trial gardens. Formerly known as a shade plant only, breeders have been hard at work creating coleus that thrives in sun too. ‘All That Lava’ is an annual that does well in containers, borders and mass plantings. Its showstopping jagged-edged leaves sport rich, deep fuchsia centers surrounded by mahogany and lightly-edged vibrant chartreuse. This explosive, long-lasting color is sure to create a stir in any garden spot.

Winning Best of Show overall is Salvia ‘Mystic Spires’ (Salvia longispicata x farinacea) from Ball Flora Plant. Beloved for its long-lasting, deep bluey-purple spires, this annual salvia provides a garden color pop while being a magnet for hummingbirds and other pollinators. ‘Mystic Spires’ is a dwarf, improved version of ‘Indigo Spires’ with longer flower hold. It is a manageable 18 to 24 inches tall with a sturdy, well-branched habit. CSU Trials loved that this beauty bloomed throughout the intense Colorado summer heat and well into autumn.

In the perennials category another salvia turned some heads. ‘Salute® Neon Pink’ Meadow Sage (Salvia nemorosa) from Dümmen Orange is a great plant for the front of the garden as it only grows 12 to 16 inches tall. The compact, bright pink spires are both long bloomers and Colorado heat tolerant. ‘Salute Neon Pink’ is a bee charmer that thrives all summer. It also makes a great cut flower.

‘Perma Frost’ Siberian Bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla) from Darwin Perennials is a fabulous drought tolerant choice for shade gardens. The silvery, almost shimmering, heart-shaped leaves mound nicely to 15 inches tall. Resistant to rabbits and deer, in the spring periwinkle-colored flowers dance above the dark green, veined leaves. This brunnera is a definite bang for the buck, proudly displaying both attractive leaves and flowers.

Rounding out the list is the perennial Showmakers® ‘Blue Bayou’ Aster (Aster Novi-Belgii) from Van Zanten Breeding B.V. If you want bold, mounding, lasting color through October, this aster is for you! Pompom type, medium to large flowers hang compactly on 12 inch plants. This late-season bloomer has abundant petals that give gardens bursts of color when many other plants have faded. Butterflies and other pollinators love this perennial.

Have we tempted you to try these winners in your 2026 garden?