Aug. 11, 2010, Guelph, Ont. – The University of Guelph is holding its annual trial garden open house Aug. 17 from noon to 8 p.m. at the Guelph Turfgrass Institute, 328 Victoria Rd. The event is free and open to the public.

The open house is designed to encourage the community to familiarize itself with the facility. Master gardeners will be on hand to provide information about the various plants and flowers and answer questions from visitors, said Rodger Tschanz, a U of G plant agriculture technician who manages the trial garden.

New this year is a Trial Garden Horticulture and Design Show. Members of the public are encouraged to create floral designs or pick flowers or vegetables from their gardens and display them. There are various entry categories and classes, and prizes will be awarded in each division. Details are available online. 

Located along the entrance to the Turfgrass Institute, the trial garden has 1,400 square metres of growing space that allows gardeners to see what flowers and plants perform best in southwestern Ontario's climate.

It's the only university-operated ornamental trial garden in Ontario and is part of a network of research centres across North America. Greenhouse growers, seed companies and landscapers can use the trial garden's results to choose species that will be successful in and around Guelph, said Tschanz.

The trial garden features numerous plant trials, including the All-American Selections flower and bedding plant trial, the Blooms of Bressingham perennial trial, the lily perennialization trial and the field-grown cut-flower trial.

For more information, contact Tschanz at 519-824-4120, Ext. 52788, or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it More information is also available online.