Size doesn't always matter.

In the world of gardening, we often admire the biggest tomatoes, the largest melons and the most heavily blooming flowers.

The 2009 All America Selection flower and vegetable winners remind us that dynamite comes in small packages - and these plants will explode in the garden, both in presence and production.

Viola "Rain Blue and Purple" is a spreading pool of cool blue, chosen by AAS as the "cool-season bedding plant" award winner. Although petite and delicate-looking, the plants are both heat and cold tolerant, providing longer-lasting flowers through spring and summer in our climate. The 1 1/2-inch blooms also change color as they mature from purple and white to purple and blue.

Plants can be expected to spread from 10 to 14 inches in the garden, and also thrive in containers. This viola has a trailing habit, suitable for patio planters and hanging baskets. "Rain Blue" was bred by Tokita Seed Col. Lt. in Japan. Look for seeds and bedding plants in garden centers and nurseries next spring.

Serve acorn squash on the half-shell with "Honey Bear" squash. This squash was bred to be baked and served in the half shell, and the honey in the name refers to its sweet flavor when cooked.

AAS praised "Honey Bear" for three "outstanding" qualities: the compact plant, high yield and tolerance to powdery mildew. A bushy plant, it reaches 2 to 3 feet tall and spreads 4 to 5 feet without vines. The plant produces 3 to 5 fruit per bush. Each dark green squash weighs about 1 pound, perfect for two people.

Many acorn squash plants succumb to powdery mildew and fruit on the plant never matures. "Honey Bear" keeps producing, AAS reports, continuing to produce throughout the growing season. It takes about 100 days from sowing seed to harvesting the first squash. It was bred by the University of New Hampshire at Durham.

The earliest white eggplant describes "Gretel." The glossy white mini-fruit are produced in clusters and can be harvested in 55 days depending on growing conditions.

Like all eggplants, "Gretel" will grow rapidly in the heat (over 55 F day and night temperatures). The pure white fruit is sweet even if mature beyond the ideal 3 to 4 inch size, providing busier gardeners a longer time to harvest fruit.

"Gretel" reaches about 3 feet wide and tall, and is adaptable to growing in containers, AAS says, if the container is about 16 inches deep. This winner was bred by Seminis Vegetable Seeds in Oxnard, Calif.

If you've never heard of a "Christmas" or Piel de Sapo melon, well, it's a type of muskmelon that can be stored longer than other melons. With "Lambkin," Christmas comes early.

AAS believes investing the time to grow "Lambkin" is worth it for the flavor. The oval-shaped melon has a unique mottled green and yellow skin and weights between 2 and 4 pounds. A thin rind surrounds sweet, fragrant and juicy white flesh.

Other gourmet melons mature much later than the 65 to 75 days to harvest date of "Lambkin." The early harvest means vigorous vines produce more melons.

It can be stored in a cool place for consumption long after vines have shriveled and ended up on the compost heap. It was bread by Known-You Seed Co. LTD in Taiwan. Seed and plants should be in stores this spring.