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About the Rock Star AwardOur Rock Star award honors ECG employees who demonstrate a sustained high level of performance and inspire others.  This month, we have a first: A Rock Star winner who was a true rock star even before joining – actually, rejoining – Emerald Coast Growers. Grass Production Supervisor Greg Mandel worked for ECG for several years until his love of music pulled him away. He developed a solid career as the drummer for Black Eyed Blonde, voted Best Band on the Emerald Co

Salvia nemorosa May Night ranks among the most famous names in all perennialdom. But that well-known name isn’t its real name: Technically, it’s ‘Mainacht’, which means the same thing in German.In either language, it’s prized for its long-flowering stands of deep purple-blue spikes. Way back in 1997 it won the prestigious Perennial Plant of the Year award from the Perennial Plant Association. May Night loves to flower so much, it demands extra attention in propagation to root and branch – an iss

An artisan is one who brings both finely-honed skill and heartfelt creativity to bear on what they make. The breeders of the Artisan coneflower collection deserve the title.These are the first true F1 hybrids from seed, meaning multiple ready dates are possible. And they’re just flat-out good-looking plants with all the right qualities: Heavy flowering, compact, and uniform in flower for consistent cropping. Artisan™ Red Ombre(‘PAS1257973’)Rich red daisies age to subtle antique shades

You’ve heard “cute as a button” and “cute as a bunny.” But which registers higher on the cuteness meter? We think it’s a tie, because both apply to one plant.  Pennisetum messiacum ‘Red Buttons’ is also known as ‘Red Bunny Tails’ thanks to its reddish-pink, soft, fluffy flower heads that just beg to be touched. Blooms soften to buff white as they mature.The flowers rise on 24” stems over neat, 18” clumps of rich green blades with burgundy highlights. The whole package is simply too cute fo

When you hear the word “groundcover,” what comes to mind? After “Ho-hum,” probably a few too-familiar genera, right?It doesn’t have to be that way. There are strikingly different, even fascinating, perennials that serve multiple groundcover functions – erosion control, border edging, container “spiller” -- without putting you to sleep. Low-growing doesn’t have to mean low margin.Here’s the lowdown on some short stuff we think highly of.  Sedum teractinum ‘Coral Reef’This is one of the mos