Who decides which flowers make it into your local nursery? Turns out, Colorado has a say

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Chad Miller crouches in a garden bed at CSU’s Trial Gardens, inspecting purple-leaf heuchera plants under a tree on a sunny day.
Hayley Sanchez/CPR News
Chad Miller, director of the Colorado State University Trial Gardens, weeds a bed of heuchera on May 29, 2025. The perennials are among hundreds being evaluated for vigor, bloom, and hardiness.

Clusters of orange and pink delosperma flowers with purple centers bloom in a dense groundcover at the CSU Trial Gardens.
Hayley Sanchez/CPR News
Ashlyn Schall, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, gloves, and a gray CSU t-shirt, rakes soil into tidy rows in a planting bed at CSU’s Trial Gardens, with labeled plant markers and a gazebo visible in the background.
Hayley Sanchez/CPR News

Dozens of terracotta pots are arranged in neat rows on a gravel path at CSU’s Trial Gardens, with small white plant labels and the university’s administration building in the distance.
Hayley Sanchez/CPR News

Close-up of vivid magenta ice plant flowers blooming densely in a CSU Trial Garden bed, with some green grass and stems in the foreground.
Hayley Sanchez/CPR News

Chad Miller stands beside the green sign for the Colorado State University Annual Flower Trial Garden at 1401 Remington Street, with a white gazebo in the background.
Hayley Sanchez/CPR News
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