The Mississippi Medallion Program recognizes great plants for statei gardens.

New Gold lantana and Blue Daze evolvulus were the first winners in 1996. By last year, 47 high performance plants had received the designation. Each winner was grown and evaluated at the four Mississippi State University test gardens and been proven to withstand the heat and humidity of our summers.

Author and Mississippi State Extension Horticulturist Norman Winter, a key decision-maker in the process, introduced the 2009 Medallion choices in the February edition of Mississippi Gardener Magazine. Slim Jim eggplant will not only wow gardeners with its deep purple fruits, but the foliage is quite attractive, said Winters. The early Italian variety grows 3 feet tall and, within 60 days, is loaded with long, slender fruit best harvested at a length of 4-5 inches. As with other eggplants, full sun, fertile soil and good drainage are important. Gardeners who like eggplant dishes, but grow only ornamentals, might want to tuck this in with annuals and perennials, Winters said.

The drought-tolerant Flambe chrysocephalum has won gardening hearts and honors in several states, and it promises to do so in Mississippi, saidWinters. From Australia and Tasmania, it grows 8 to 15 inches tall, is fairly insect and disease proof and blooms May through October.

Two colors are available. Flambe Yellow has silver-gray stems and leaves with bright yellow flower clusters, while the foliage of Flambe Orange is more olive green with orange blooms. A great season extender and choice for dry, sunny spots, it also works in containers. Plant it with other choices that have similar requirements, as it will not tolerate being over-watered. Coleus, superbelles and Intensia phlox are suggested companions.

Cleomes were popular annuals in Grandmother’s garden. A few seedpods passed along to a friend brought lots of plants and pastel pink or lavender flowers the next year. For some, that is a positive virtue; others consider cleomes to be weedy. Senorita Rosalita cleome is a sterile version, meaning there are no reseeding problems. Robust, but spider-like, lavender-pink blooms cover this 24- to 48-inch plant through the season. The blooms and leaves closely resemble the old-fashioned version, but are smaller and a deeper green. It is butterfly friendly, needs no deadheading and provides height in containers.

The last is a shrub you will enjoy for years.

Hydrangeas are the darlings of many Southern shade gardens, and this one called Limelight offers a new twist. It won the Fresh Cut Flower of the Year award in 2008 from the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. Hydrangea  paniculata is a different hydrangea species than the pink or blue mopheads and lacecaps or the native oakleaf hydrangeas common to our area, saidWinter. Limelight boasts an incredible number of blooms per plant that start as a delicate, light chartreuse color turning into bright lime green and pink as fall approaches.

Soil pH will not change the bloom color as it does with the mopheads and lacecaps. The best planting sites have well-drained, fertile soil with morning sun and afternoon shade. Blooms occur on new wood. Pruning in late fall or early spring is recommended, with an application of fertilizer at the same time.

The Mississippi Medallion Program is sponsored by the Mississippi Nursery and Landscape Association, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Mississippi Plant Selections Committee.

Look for Medallion winners at nurseries and at the Jackson Garden and Patio Show at the Mississippi Trade Mart on March 13-15.

Miriam Jabour, a Master Gardener and master flower show judge, has been active with the Vicksburg Council of Garden Clubs for more than 20 years. Write to her at 1114 Windy Lake Drive, Vicksburg, MS 39183.