One of the fun parts of gardening is trying out new varieties. W. Atlee Burpee has a whole field full of new plant seeds for the 2013 growing season.

Since its founding in 1876, Burpee has introduced numerous breakthrough varieties in its 136 years, including the first white sweet corn, the ‘Big Boy’ tomato, the first white marigold, Iceberg lettuce and “Sweet Seedless, the world’s first seedless tomato.

Here’s what’s new in the catalog for 2013:

‘On Deck’ Hybrid Sweet Corn – This is the first-ever sweet corn specially bred for containers. This bicolor variety is 4-5’ tall and is meant for full-sun decks and patios. It’ll produce 2-3 delicious 7-8″-long ears per stalk.

‘SuperSauce’ Hybrid Paste Tomato – Tipping the scales at 2 lbs., a whopping 5.5″ tall x 5″ wide, SuperSauce produces gallons of seedless sauce from a single plant harvest (one tomato fills an entire sauce jar).

‘Crimson Giant’ Raspberry – “Crimson Giant’ weighs 4.5 grams – 40-50% bigger than other varieties. Producing hefty yields of firm, bright-red, sugar-sweet berries, this new variety was bred by the berry experts at Cornell University. Season-extending, self-pollinating plants keep producing berries from late September right into October, and even November.

‘Mighty Sweet’ Hybrid Grape Tomato – The first-ever determinate grape tomato, the supersweet mini 2 oz. fruits are loaded with anti-oxidants and high in flavanoids, C, beta-carotene, lycopene and other phytonutrients.

‘Sun King’ Hybrid Broccoli – This large blue-green variety is a standout for heat tolerance. With heads 6-8″ in diameter, ‘Sun King’ offers great leaf cover and abundant side shoots.

‘Candy Apple’ Hybrid Sweet Pepper – This year, for the first time, we recruited the Burpee Army (Burpee customers!) to submit names for a choice pepper variety. The name ‘Candy Apple’ was the winner, capturing the 5″ pepper’s deep-red color and sugary sweetness.

‘Blue Lagoon’ Verbascum – Introducing the world’s first true-blue verbascum, with the very finest blue of any garden flower. Prize-winner in the 2011 Chelsea Flower Show, the plant’s tall, erect stems are festooned with ever-so-blue saucer-shaped flowers and rosettes of clean green leaves.

To see a full list of Burpee’s “New for 2013” varieties, go online.

(Photo courtesy of Burpee)