Aug 18, 2022

Awards Given out at NGB, AAS and HGSA Summer Summit

An industry icon was posthumously presented an award during the Summer Summit, hosted collaboratively this year by All-America Selections, National Garden Bureau and the Home Garden Seed Association. 

The Home Garden Seed Association’s 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient was posthumously given to Dave Salman. 

The Lifetime Achievement Award was established to honor key people in the industry — those who have devoted their lives to making quality seed available to home gardeners — with awards. 

David Salman died on Sunday, June 5. His commitment to cultivating a palette of beautiful waterwise plants transformed gardening in the American West. David founded Santa Fe Greenhouses, High Country Gardens and Waterwise Gardening. For decades, he encouraged environmentally conscious gardening practices, long before “organic” became a household word. He was also an enthusiastic, highly sought-after speaker on these subjects. 

Over the years David and his wife Ava won many awards, including four Silver Awards and one Gold Award for Best Gardening Catalog by Catalog Age Magazine. In 1996, David introduced Agastache rupestris followed by native blue grama grass Bouteloua gracilis ‘Blonde Ambition’ P.P.#22048.

Breeder’s Cup Award

The AAS Breeders Cup Award recipient was Patty Buskirk of Seeds By Design and Terra Organics. The award was established by All-America Selections in 2004 to recognize a plant breeder who dramatically influenced horticulture by breeding new cultivars that brought significant improvements to those classes. 

Buskirk is the managing partner for Seeds by Design, Terra Organics, and Aurora Seed. She oversees the day-to-day administration, research, development, marketing and production activities.

Buskirk started in the seed industry in 1981 as a squash breeder assistant with Steenseed in Chico, California. After college, she accepted a job with Northrup King in Gilroy as an assistant brassica breeder. In 1987, she moved back home to Northern California to work for NPI/Western Hybrid Seed.

With her partners, she started Seeds by Design in 1994. Terra Organics was established in 1999 with the goal to offer a variety of organic seed. Patty loves the everyday challenges and ever-changing world of seed.

Just a few of the AAS Winners that have come from Buskirk are the Chef’s Choice series of tomatoes, Blue Prince pumpkin, Mama Mia Giallo pepper, Black Hawk ornamental pepper, Pepitas pumpkin, Warrior onion, Super Moon pumpkin, Mexican Sunrise and Mexican Sunset peppers, and more.