Award of Garden Merit

The Award of Garden Merit is a mark of quality awarded, since 1922, to garden plants (including trees, vegetables and decorative plants) by the United Kingdom, Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).

Awards are reviewed annually in case plants have become unavailable horticulturally, or have been superseded by better cultivars.

[2] Since 1989, France has had similar awards called the Mérites de Courson, but these are drawn from a limited number of plants submitted by nurserymen to juries at the twice-yearly Journées des Plantes de Courson and awards are based solely on the opinions of the jury members as to the plants' likely performance in French gardens, rather than on extensive trials.

[citation needed] All-America Selections is an independent non-profit organization that tests new, never-before-sold varieties for the home gardener.

Field trial results gained weight in the assessments and existing AGM plants were reviewed in the light of more recent experience.