Touring Pleasant Run Nursery
The Bayview team headed to Pleasant Run Nursery in Allentown, NJ for a guided tour focused on sustainable plant production and thoughtful species selection. From the rows of container-grown plants to experimental trial gardens, every corner of the nursery offered insights into how growers are shaping more resilient landscapes.
From Soil to Strategy: Behind the Scenes
We explored container production best practices, from root structure and potting media to canopy formation and long-term performance. A highlight? Watching their massive yellow conveyor system in action—filling thousands of pots with soil at once. It’s a powerful visual of how precision and scale can support sustainability.
Pleasant Run’s display beds offered another layer of learning, featuring plants tested under tough conditions: deer pressure, compacted soils, drought, and poor drainage. These real-world trials show what works—and what doesn’t—when designing for resilience.
Lessons for the Landscape
We left inspired by the nursery’s practical approach to ecological performance.
Selecting plants for specific site challenges, like road salt, standing water, or dense shade
Identifying cultivars bred for adaptability, weed suppression, and low maintenance
Integrating species that support biodiversity while meeting design goals
This kind of hands-on learning sharpens our ability to build landscapes that are both high-performing and deeply rooted in place.
A Long-Term Nesting Colony
One detail we loved? The birdhouses scattered across the nursery, designed to support a migratory bird species that has nested here for over two decades. The presence of this thriving colony speaks volumes about Pleasant Run’s commitment to habitat health and long-term stewardship.
Growing with Intention
Tours like this one remind us that great landscapes begin long before installation. We’re grateful to the team at Pleasant Run for sharing their knowledge and giving us a closer look at the work behind the plants. It’s this kind of collaboration—between designers, growers, and ecosystems—that keeps our practice grounded and growing.
Curious to visit? Learn more at pleasantrunnursery.com.
