Four Star Greenhouse (Carleton, MI) is the home of Proven Winners, and a 1-acre display garden features unique varieties that work well together, creating an impressive collection of plants that show their performance in different conditions. Visitors will see new varieties as well as a sneak peek of what’s to come in 2022, including tropical plants, hanging baskets, and a vast display of Aquapot containers.

Mast Young Plants (Grand Rapids, MI) invites participants to discover something special at a trial garden featuring more than 1,500 varieties (including 135+ new items) in raised landscape beds, hanging baskets, deco pots, saddle planters, and window planters, as well as 500 unique, custom-designed combination planters. This living catalog features all the varieties offered in Mast’s liner program from more than 25 breeders. Displays are sorted by genera and clearly labeled, giving guests a unique opportunity to compare size, color, and vigor of their favorite varieties alongside new varieties.

The Michigan State University Horticulture Gardens (East Lansing, MI) consists of 14 acres of beautiful landscapes, including annual trials. This year, more than 200 varieties of annuals, perennials, and vegetables are being evaluated. In addition to the trial gardens, there are a multitude of other themed gardens to explore. The MSU Plant Trial Field Day is August 3 (virtual and free, but registration is required).

Pell Greenhouses (Hudsonville, MI) rejoins the tour this year and invites participants to visit display gardens that demonstrate how well the items it sells as young plants perform in the upper Midwest. Pell Greenhouses is a wholesale operation, established in 1970, and specializes in young plants, pre-finished Regal geraniums, finished spring and summer annuals, fall mums, and poinsettias. The company has more than 12 acres under cover and more than 8 acres of field production. Pell has expanded its offerings to include items from Dümmen Orange, Westhoff, PAC, and Danziger, along with the full line of Green Fuse Botanicals items.

The Raker-Roberta’s (Litchfield, MI) trial gardens include more than 7 acres and 100,000 unique plants. Visitors will experience thousands of varieties in 600 side-by-side rows, 250 hanging baskets, and 150 large containers in sun and shade. New for 2021 is an extensive basil, seed petunia, and calibrachoa trials, along with the National Garden Bureau Year of Sunflower, Hardy Hibiscus, and Monarda trials, and the Perennial Plant Association’s Year of Nepeta trials.

Walters Gardens (Zeeland, MI) features newly renovated display gardens with many new things to see. The landscape performance of the entire Proven Winners Perennial collection can be viewed in two dedicated areas, and a new Hosta Walk includes more than 100 varieties of Hosta. In addition, Walters has comparative areas for its Daylilies and Hardy Hibiscus collections.