05/01/24—Today the National Garden Bureau (NGB) mentioned Veronica ‘Seaside’ in their newsletter! It was recommended as one of their New in 2024 plants. Check out this selection in the Intrinsic Introductions catalog to see why the NGB is buzzing about it.

“Inspire. Connect. Grow.” This is the mission of the NGB, a non-profit organization that exists to educate, inspire, and motivate people to increase the use of garden seeds, plants, and products in homes, gardens, and workplaces by being the marketing arm of the gardening industry. Its members are experts in the field of horticulture and the NGB’s information comes directly from those sources.

04/23/24— Large plantings of two of Brent’s selections, Monarda ‘Midnight Oil’ and Penstemon ‘Pocahontas’, can be seen in the garden at the Rodin Museum on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. As part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Rodin is one of the most visited institutions in Philadelphia. The Garden at Rodin is maintained by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS).

According to the PHS Director of Public Gardens and Landscapes, Tom Morris, they chose Penstemon ‘Pocahontas’ because they “were enamored with its stunning dark burgundy stems and elegant, tubular pink flowers” and thought it would look incredible with the other plants in their palette that are also in the pink and purple color family. Since they are planting in an urban environment and in a wet location, they “needed a plant that could tolerate extreme conditions, including alternating periods of wet soil, heat, and other unpredictable weather patterns.” They also loved the long tenure of the blooms and the “attractive clusters of stunning flowers that help us create a photo friendly area in a major public space.”

04/22/24—Allium ‘Chivette’ is featured in Emerald Coast Growers’ (ECG) weekly newsletter, and it’s the subject of their latest blog post as well! ECG supplies top-quality starter plants to growers in the US and Canada, with greenhouses in Pennsylvania and Florida. Customers can subscribe to their weekly newsletter for their current availability and the latest in plant trends. In this edition they discuss using ornamental herbs to add textural foliage, architectural interest, and fragrance to the perennial or patio garden.

“Fun, uniquely fragrant, and full of flowers” is how ECG describes ‘Chivette’, adding that it’s “just the right size for prime retail presentation.“ The plant is a mostly sterile chive with kelly green foliage all season. Initially upright but then more relaxed, blades reach 12 to 15 or more inches long. ECG noted how the ball-shaped blooms bounce above the arching leaves. “Whimsical spheres” they called them. If you get up close you’ll see that a deeper purple stripe runs down the center of each lavender petal. A dainty-looking plant that is actually tough, ‘Chivette’ is hardy down to zone 4.

04/17/24—Rudbeckia ‘Glitters Like Gold’ was recommended in a Profile segment in the most recent Perennial Plant Association (PPA) newsletter. Dennis Wentworth, Great Lakes Region Director, mentions the plant in a roundup of three native cultivars he enjoys working with at the moment. He notes ‘Glitters Like Gold’s’ three-inch blossoms along with its exceptional disease resistance, similar to that of ‘American Gold Rush’.

The PPA is a trade association composed of growers, retailers, landscape designers and contractors, educators, and others who are professionally involved in the herbaceous perennial industry. Their mission is to connect professionals, provide education, and promote perennial plants. Their Great Lakes region includes Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.

02/27/24 — John Cottrell of Stoneleaf Nursery gave a presentation on perennials and grasses for Spring Training for Landscape Professionals, an all-day workshop held by the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association this February.

John selected three of Brent’s cultivars as part of his presentation on the landscape uses of grasses: Panicum 'Prairie Dog' (tall slender columns), Andropogon 'Red October' (bright red stems and leaves), and Festuca 'Cool As Ice' (tufts of smokey blue).

02/07/24 — Landscape trend number two for 2024 is grasses, according to Andrew Bunting, Vice President of Horticulture for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. He was recently interviewed by Christine Menapace of Turf Magazine.

Several of Brent's cultivars are listed as recommendations in the article, including 'Blackhawks' and 'Holy Smoke' among the andropogons and 'Little Red' and 'Sandhill' among the schizachryiums. Beautiful grasses play an important role from an ornamental standpoint, but they are also vital ecologically as components in native and pollinator gardens.

01/29/24 — Intrinsic Introductions’ Bouteloua 'Honeycomb' got a shoutout as a promising perennial in the January 29th, 2024 issue of Perennial Pulse, for its performance in the CSU trial gardens. GrowerTalks’ e-newsletter looks at the broad spectrum of plant forms, genera and cultivars, hardiness zones, propagation and production methods, and garden uses.

A hardy, adaptable grass, 'Honeycomb' is tan-colored with wire-like stems and eyelash-looking flowers. At trial it “was extremely vigorous and filled out very well for the first year,” according to Dr. Chad Miller, Assistant Professor and CSU Trial Gardens Director. He also noted that “the inflorescences really ‘light up’ in the early morning and late afternoon with sunrise and sunset.” Dr. Miller went on to describe the plant as “a sea of blooms.” He couldn’t have said it better.

01/23/24 — Iowa Arboretum & Gardens established an ornamental trial program for central Iowa starting in 2023. Central Iowa is well situated to endure a number of garden hazards, most noteworthy being a moderate drought during July and a more severe one in December.

For their inaugural year, Brent submitted two perennials. First was Aster 'Thunderdome', a fall-blooming perennial with the purple flower of New England aster and the fragrant foliage and bushy habit of aromatic aster. Buds formed in July with “great fall color” noted by September. Even into October, 'Thunderdome' was “nicely mounded and covered in pollinators,” according to one judge, ranking solid fives (the best) from mid-September to the end of the season.

Brent’s second submission was a grass, Schizachyrium 'Little Red Fox'. Bushy, vigorous plants are on the shorter side of little bluestem. Strongly basal foliage with thin, wiry stems changes from green to silver and then red, reaching its peak in the late season as the seed heads form.

01/18/24 — Intrinsic Introductions’ Geum ‘Alabama Slammer’ hit it big, grabbing a spot on Better Homes and Gardens’ list of 14 Stunning Peach-Colored Flowers And Foliage Plants We Love. They have excellent taste, of course. It might have helped a little that the 2024 Pantone Color of the Year is Peach Fuzz.

Actually, these blooms are multi-colored deep orange, edged and highlighted with red. Most of the flowers are semi-double on striking burgundy stems. The foliage mound is fuzzy, or as Intrinsic describes it: hairy. But Peach Fuzz works—who can argue with BHG?

01-15-24 — Intrinsic Introductions releases the 2024 Genetics & Supply catalog featuring Scirpus pendulum 'Stars and Stripes' PPAF as the cover article. This year’s catalog includes the full line of breeding from Brent Horvath, new plant introductions for 2024, formal names for each plant, and input sources for the trade along with photos and descriptions of each cultivar.

DOWNLOAD THE NEW CATALOG

12/14/23 — Best of Show at the Penn State Trials is awarded to the cultivars that receive a perfect score through all ratings. Best of Species goes to cultivars that have the highest rating in their species. Intrinsic Introductions’ Pennisetum ‘Pure Energy’ received Best of Show and Best of Species for Ornamental Grasses. This golden fountain grass is the first hardy grass with wide gold foliage for full sun. Substantial blades on this variety are a half-inch wide and showy, peaking in July just before the reddish bottlebrush flowers appear. It works well in containers, too.

Another of Brent’s plants received a Best of Show award in the Eupatorium category, ‘Blind Date’. This cultivar is a native wetland species. Chocolate-red foliage is topped with milky white flowers on three-foot stems in July. Plants thrive in full sun and moist to average soil, and they combine easily with other varieties.

Director’s Select is noted when a cultivar receives a final overall rating of 4.6 or higher. Intrinsic Introductions’ Aster ‘Thunderdome’ received this meritorious citation in the Aster category. A hybrid, it has the purple flower of New England aster and the fragrant foliage and bushy substantial habit of aromatic aster. Plants grow large in the garden, three to four feet tall and up to three feet wide. ‘Thunderdome’s’ purple is a new color break in this type of aster.