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April Brilliance

To celebrate the arrival of April, we’re taking a deep dive into a spring-blooming favorite, Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance’ – but don’t let the name fool you. This versatile multi-stemmed shrub (or tree form, if you so desire) is so much more than just a flowering, fruiting, bird-beloved ornamental specimen. As the offspring resulting from the cross of its North American native parents, Amelanchier laevis and A. arborea, ‘Autumn Brilliance’ apple serviceberry seems to inherit the best of both worlds.

By Kate Irvine Fruit · Spring bloom · Read More

Bloomin' Blues to Buzz About!

Usually, various hues of green represent the true arrival of spring – from the budding of deciduous trees, shrubs, and vines, to the emergent basal foliage of many perennials, the livening of semi-evergreen grasses, and the fresh flush of new growth on broadleaf evergreens. Mingled amongst the emerald, chartreuse, Kelly, forest and hunter greens, rare jewel tones of sapphire, indigo, cobalt, lapis and azure bring an unexpected curiosity to the garden. Typically, it is our native Mertensia virginica, Virginia bluebells, and even blue-flowering Aquilegia canadensis selections that come to mind for this specific and rather scrupulous palette.

By Kate Irvine Spring Bloom · Read More

Earth Day

Just in time for Earth Day, we’ve approached that time of the season again where lots o’ crops are working on flushing themselves out, some of them inviting the gaze of admirers with the first colorful blooms of the season. It’s almost unfair and impossible to pinpoint simply one of the many lovely early Spring-flowering perennials that we offer here at Pleasant Run, so this week, we’re going to highlight several native selections that are in full spectacle and catching our eye. Without further ado, we bring you Geranium maculatum, Tiarella cordifolia ‘Brandywine’, and Aquilegia canadensis ‘Little Lanterns’.

By Kate Irvine Deer Resistant · Native · Pollinators · Spring Bloom · Read More