We are so glad to be back, meeting and greeting you in the nursery yard.
This spring our hours are:
Wednesdays through Saturday, 9 am to 4 pm
Sundays 9 to 1pm (closed Easter Sunday)
We are incredibly lucky to have such a great team here at ‘the Bud’. You’ll see all the familiar faces back again this season: Skylar, Kara, Lily, Lisa and Julie. We are also thrilled to have a new face join us behind the design desk, Kelsey! While she’ll be focused primarily in TEND’s landscape design studio, working with clients for garden coaching and design consultations, you might also catch her in the nursery yard some daysl Stop by and say hello.
New Redbuds at Redbud
Inspired by the collection of redbuds at Stoneleigh: A Natural Garden, we are offering a wider selection of redbud culitvars at the nursery this year.
Cercis canadensis ‘Alley Cat’
The foliage is liberally splashed with striking white variegation that is stable and scorch resistant. Dark pink blooms appear before leaves emerge in copper, pink and soft green. As the foliage matures, the white variegation makes a lovely contrast to the green. The size reaches 20′ tall and wide.
Cercis canadensis ‘Appalachia’
A 2021 PHS Gold Medal Plant, its deep reddish-purple buds open to bright neon pink flowers, which are more vibrant than the bloom of straight species. The size reaches 30′ tall and 25′ wide.
Cercis canadensis ‘Carolina Sweetheart’
The heart shaped leaves emerge in shades of bronzy purple with vivid pink and white margins. The tri-color effect is striking making it a dramatic standout in the landscape for a long period. By mid summer, the foliage is primarily broze-green, but the new growth continues to be colorful. The size reaches 30′ tall and 25′ wide.
Cercis canadensis ‘Flame Thrower’
The leaves emerge reddish burgundy and rapidly mature to yellow and green, giving a multicolor effect. It is a really striking small specimen tree, especially in late spring and early summer. The size reaches 20′ tall and 18′ wide.
Cercis canadensis ‘Garden Gems Emerald’
A compact form ornamentally similar to Japanese maple, is a perfect specimen tree for patios and container plantings. The upright, densely branched habit with lightly textured medium green, heart-shaped leaves and dark pink blooms makes it a focal point in the home garden. The petite size is 8′ tall and wide.
Cercis canadensis ‘Royal White’
This selection found in Bluffs, Illinois with large, plentiful white flowers is very resilient and cold tolerant. The size reaches 30′ tall and 25′ wide.
And Speaking of what’s available at the nursery…
You can check our website for our current plant availability list to see what’s in stock. We update weekly through the season. Our current availability for trees and shrubs is here. It will be another week or so before we have most perennials in stock; but we do now have lovely spring ephemerals available. Stop by for beautiful bluebells, tall trilliums, weird and wonderful hairy hepatica and many more.
Spring in the Garden
Uli Lorimer, Director of Horticulture at Native Plant Trust, poses a good question in his lastest Boston Globe column: How do we balance caring for our gardens and ecological stewardship?
His article reinforces the ‘why’ behind the now familiar campaigns like ‘Leave the Leaves’ and ‘Save the Stems’, while reminding us that balance and equilibrium are key. Whether it’s with garden maintenance or plant choice, you don’t need an all-or-nothing approach to make a difference. Keep in mind that native plants host and nourish the native insects with which they evolved; it’s important to protect and provide habitat where we can in support of this. At Redbud, we champion the ’70/30′ goal shared by Doug Tallamy. It’s a practical guideline for any homeowner: aim for 70% native plants in your yard, leaving 30% for other non-harmful plants that may not be native– like that lilac that reminds you of your mother or the peonies you love for June bouquets.
If you want to support native insects, attract more birds, bring more beauty to your garden and enjoyment to your outdoor spaces, we offer professional design services ranging from garden coaching to full landscape design. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine an existing garden, we can help you reach our ecoloigal goals. To learn more about our services or to get started today visit our website.
Some Good News For A Change…
Pennsylvania has a program to decrease non-native invasive species and increase native plants throughout the State. The PA Department of Agriculture program, Invasive Replace-ive Pennsylvania, encourages residents to remove invasive species of trees and shrubs such as callery pear, burning bush, barberry, butterfly bush and autumn olive and will provide residents up to 5 native plants, for free! Learn more about the program and how to register here.
There are a number of bills working their way through the PA state house that support native plants and insects.
House Bill 441 This measure would allow the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to increase protection of native insects. The bill has passed the House and is now in a Senate committee waiting for advancement. House Bill 426, still in committee, would encourage planting native species around state buildings. House Bill 1878, still in committee, aims to ease restrictive HOA landscaping rules. It would prevent HOAs from unreasonbly restricting the use of native plants as landscape plants. Contact your lawmakers in support of native plants!
The Extraordinary Caterpillar a film by Jeff McKay, follows scientist and commuity activists with a peek into the dazzling world of nature’s tiniest superheroes. You may already be familiar with the work of Sam Jaffee of The Caterpillar Lab, if not, Sam uses dazzling macro-videography to magnify tiny, fantastical, anime-like creations, caterpillars! The film is being screened several community groups in the area:
April 16 at Open Connections, 1616 Delchester Rd, Newtown Square, PA – this will be a potluck with the movie showing from 5-8 pm. All are welcome, call 610-459-3366 or email Office@openconnections.org
April 26 at Indigenous Ingenuities Barn, 3861 Old Eastern Road, Doylestown PA- admission is free, however RSVP is required, space is limited. Please email info@ind-ing.com to reserve your spot.
Keep in Touch
Please feel free to reach out with any burning questions, e.g.”are the spicebush in bloom?” via phone, 610-892-2833 or email: info@redbudnative.com. Or stop by during open hours and say hello. For the latest updates on programs and plant information please follow us on our social media channels.
