A Surprise Inside!

by Danny Summers

Growing up as a kid, one of my favorite treats was Cracker Jack. That savory combination of caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts was certainly the draw, but there was something more... A Surprise Inside!

A Surprise Inside was never anything really valuable. It wasn't like finding a winning lottery ticket inside or even a coupon for a free box of Cracker Jack. More importantly for me, it had something inside to make me read and think. Often it was something that sparked curiosity and rallied my imagination.

Cracker Jack was nothing new when I was a kid. In fact, it had been a long-established snack food, actually called by some the original junk food. Doing a quick search will show the combination of ingredients began in the mid-1800s with multiple versions being sold. But what we know today as Cracker Jack has its roots around the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.

In 1896, the first batch of Cracker Jack was produced, the same year the product's name and tagline "The More You Eat, the More You Want" were registered. It was named as if someone tasted it and remarked: "That's a crackerjack!" (Crackerjack, at the time, was like saying "excellent quality" or "something special".)

In 1899, one of the co-owners developed the "waxed sealed package" for freshness, which was then known as the "Eckstein Triple Proof Package," a dust, germ, and moisture-proof paper package.

In 1907, the release of the song, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," was written and that gave Cracker Jack free publicity, with its line: "Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack!" With Cracker Jack's roots in Chicago, it now makes more sense why baseball legend, Harry Carey wanted to sing the song at every Cubs Game's 7th inning stretch. Over the decades it has become the unofficial anthem of Baseball and is one of the three most recognizable songs in the US, along with "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "Happy Birthday".

Over the years Cracker Jack, first introduced by Rueckheim Bros. & Eckstein company (Chicago), was purchased by the Borden company in 1964. And in 1997, PepsiCo bought it as part of its Frito-Lay division which it is part of today. If you are a Cracker Jack follower like me, there is some interesting trivia on how they developed the Cracker Jack mascot Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo, introduced as early as 1916. See the link below to read more.

By now you are wondering... how does A Surprise Inside relate to this story?

Several years ago, Karen and I were offered to receive a New Varieties Sample Box from Ball Seed (both annuals and perennials). It arrives in early April, each having about 9 new varieties in a 4" pot with a paper sleeve. Inside the box is also a laminated overview of the featured new plant introductions.

Every time we see a box arrive, it takes me back to the Cracker Jack experience... A Surprise Inside! This year one of the new introductions from Ball FloraPlant was Ageratum Monarch Magic. At first glance, this little plant was already showing a few blooms, but we did not expect what was to come.

Over the coming weeks, this one little plant would transform into a blooming machine and we saw all types of bees and butterflies enjoying it. We planted it with a few other plants as a combination in a large container but as you can see in the last photo it quickly became the star of the show. As spent blooms receded new ones came on to keep the show going.

Only the neighboring Agapanthus got any attention and that was only because it was much taller, towering above the Ageratum! While we saw many butterflies on ours, the photo below of the Monarch is from Ball/FloraPlant.

Thinking back on the experience of opening the 2025 New Introductions Sample Box from Ball FloraPlant and Selecta, we were excited just to see what was inside. But, after you have a single small plant explode into color for weeks sends the feeling of excitement into overdrive.

Ageratum Monarch Magic is a crackerjack for us, as it certainly was A Surprise Inside!

New Breeder Trial Sample Program Coming in 2025
If you are heading to The Fall Event 2024, you will have a chance to learn about a new opportunity for a select group of our Centers in the coming year to receive 2026 New Introductions Sample Box from breeder/genetics firms (in Spring of 2025).

Lloyd Traven of Peace Tree Farm will be with us to share details on how a Garden Center may be selected next spring. Multiple breeding and genetics companies may be involved.

For Garden Centers willing to participate, if selected, they will receive the sample box and must be willing to plant the new introductions in the Garden Center, and have staff and customers get to know these new plants that will be available the following spring. It can provide an exclusive impression for your Garden Center for your "ultra-interested" audience to have a glimpse of exciting new plants. Watch for more details.

To download a PDF of the info sheet that accompanied the 2025 Ball/FloraPlant and Selecta sample box CLICK HERE.

Cracker Jack Followers... click here to read about Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo.