Plant hunter Allan Armitage, a professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia, is an expert at identifying “new” plants.

The hunt is on. Join in. The trail is fresh and fragrant.

Next weekend is the 13th annual Newport Flower Show. There will be flowers, of course, lots of them. There will also be contests, lectures and workshops. And there will be two people there of particular interest: plant hunters.

“It sounds so violent,” says Dan Hinkley, of Indianola, Wash. “Basically, I’ve always liked to say that anybody who’s a gardener is a plant explorer.”

Don’t buy the backpedaling: Hinkley is a plant hunter. He says so on his Web site, www.danielhinkley.com, where you can learn about his remarkable garden, with thousands of unusual plants captured from places all around the world; about his books, articles and columns; and about his decade of serving as garden consultant for the Martha Stewart Show.

On Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Hinkley will lead a luncheon lecture savagely titled “Plant Hunting!”

Hinkley, according to the show’s organizers, is “a star in the horticultural world.” However, next weekend he shares billing with yet another hunter: Allan Armitage, a professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia.

Actually, Armitage is more an evaluator of hunted plants than a captor of them.

“To really get a new plant in front of the American population, it’s quite a trail,” Armitage says. “Somebody has to find it, breed it, select it, then test it.”

Armitage tests it. He has written many books and articles about gardening, and won many awards, most notably the Medal of Honor from the Garden Club of America and the National Educator Award from the American Horticultural Society. To those awards, Armitage will add this year’s International Achievement Award from the Newport Flower Show.

Armitage will be around for the duration of the show and can talk with gardeners on a variety of topics.

“I’ll be preaching to the choir. They don’t know what I’m going to be preaching, but they’re coming to church. So that’s a good thing,” he says.

For fans of flowers and other plants, the Newport Flower Show can be a great thing: three full days of all things horticulture.

Let’s get hunting.

Hinkley’s approach to plants is adventurous. “I tend to focus my plant exploring to natural settings. That allows me to learn a lot about that plant — how it grows and where it grows. It makes me a better lecturer because I know the plant better.”

Taking plants from one place and introducing them in another raises a horticultural issue: the potential for the spread of invasive, non-indigenous plants.

“There are cases across North America of plants that have gone bad. No one wants to see that.”

This conjures up images of plants dropping out of school and keeping company with weeds. But it’s no laughing matter.

“No one who introduces plants wants one to get out of control. There is a way to introduce exotic plants in a garden, but it’s important we do it responsibly and ethically.”

Garden intelligently. Know what you’re planting, and its growing characteristics.

“Make sure they don’t possess the potential to escape. Even before you collect plants, you should have a fairly good idea of the family of plant it comes from,” Hinkley says.

Most people don’t have the means to search for unusual plants in remote parts of Asia and South America. But, Hinkley says, that doesn’t mean they can’t go plant hunting close to home. Appreciate what’s around you.

“Only five years ago a new shrub was found in northern California that was never before seen or described. The overriding principle is to be aware of our surroundings and learn the plants. Once you learn the plants, they become visible. When you get to know people, they tend to stand out in a crowd. The same’s true with plants. You become aware of your environment. When you learn the flora and fauna, it makes going out a more rich experience.”

There is always some new plant in horticulture. And it’s Armitage’s job to evaluate it.

“The definition of new is something one can struggle with. I have introduced many plants that are not new to God, but they are new to my daughter and to Home Depot.”

Hybridizing is the source of most “new” plants, but not the only source.

“There are plants that put out what you might call mutations, and someone with a horticultural eye will see it and think it might be worth propagating. Other plants have been around forever and never been commercialized. They may have been in Granny’s backyard, but nowhere else.”

Wherever “new” plants come from, Armitage evaluates them for hardiness and suitability for mass propagation.

“It’s nice to think a new flower just happens by magic, like manna from heaven, but it doesn’t.”

One popular plant that Armitage has studied is the hosta.

“They are probably the number one perennial for shade conditions. There are plenty of people who have shade and would like to have color in the shade.”

There are all kinds of hosta: some with large leaves, some with small ones; some with green leaves; some with blue; some variegated. And no matter the form, hostas are popular with humans as well as many animals and insects, from deer to slugs.

But hosta gardeners can fight back — with beer.

“Slugs like beer better than hostas. If you put a little container of beer next to a hosta, you’ll find dead slugs in it. They go to the beer instead of the hosta.”

Most of what Armitage does through the many public talks he gives every year is promote gardening.

“I try to inspire people to have a good time in the garden. Of course most of the people who are silly enough to come and hear me talk are already gardeners. It’s not like someone’s coming from the nut-and-bolt factory who happens to find himself at a garden talk.”

Learn about gardening. Apply what you learn. And take chances with it, too.

“I remind people that gardening should be fun. It’s not brain surgery.”Details, details, details

The Newport Flower Show is Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Rosecliff, on Bellevue Avenue in Newport. Admission, when purchased in advance, is $15 for adults and $6 for children, 13 to 17; and $20 and $6, respectively, the day of the show. On Sunday, two adults are admitted for $22. Free parking and shuttle bus service is provided at Newport Grand, on Admiral Kalbfus Boulevard.

Here are some highlights:

•The opening night party is Friday, 6 to 9; $150 in advance and $175 at the door.

•Show packages are available for $185 and $300.

•“Parties to Die For,” a luncheon lecture by Kathy Rainer and Tricky Wolfes, is Friday, noon to 2 p.m.; $75.

•“Plant Hunting!,” a luncheon lecture by Dan Hinkley, is Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; $75.

•“Container Workshop with Proven Winners,” with Rick Schoellhorn, is Sunday, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. $60.

•“Passion Pour Les Fleurs,” a flower-arranging workshop with Kathy Rainer and Tricky Wolfes, is Sunday, 12:30 to 2 p.m.; $75.

For reservations or more information, call (401) 847-1000 or visit www.newportmansions.org.

brourke@projo.com