New and Classic Plants from Intrinsic Perennials

Brent Horvath grew up working alongside his parents at their Illinois landscaping business, floral shop and retail garden center, which specialized in field-dug perennials. After earning a degree in horticulture from Oregon State University, he developed a wholesale perennial nursery in Hebron, Ill.: Intrinsic Perennial Gardens, named after his parents’ ventures.

There, Brent leads a team in propagating and growing plants for the trade, while also selecting and breeding new cultivars, many of which have become garden mainstays and standouts in trials and award programs. 

Check out the video below, where we had chance to catch up with Brent Horvath and Lisa Hilgenberg from Intrinsic.

Originating at Intrinsic Perennial Gardens in Hebron, Ill., Brent Horvath’s introductions have proven themselves in the Midwest’s hot, humid summers and cold, wet winters. Intrinsic partners with trial gardens in other regions to test durability in other climates. Here are just a few of his creations from three decades in business: 

Brent considers this one of his best plants. Named Perennial Plant of the Year in 2023 by the PPA, it maintains a rounded, two-foot-tall, three-foot-wide shape and blooms heavily through the latter half of the summer. Its hairy foliage resists fungal disease. Full sun, moderate to dry soil. Zones 4–9.

Standing 24 inches tall and 18 inches wide, ‘Trailblazer’ is a short and sturdy version of a Midwestern wet-meadow native. Thick spikes of purple flowers bloom in summer, attracting butterflies. Full sun, moderate water, though it can take short stints of wet and dry soil. Zones 4–9.

This petite clumping allium reaches just over a foot tall in leaf and bloom, with a narrow, upright shape. Its midsummer flowers are a deep rosy purple. Full sun, low water. Zones 4–9.

A recent introduction (2025), this selection of an eastern-native penstemon surpasses older varieties with the deep red color of its leaves. Pink-and-white tubular flowers in early summer recommend it for the hummingbird garden. Full sun, moderate water. Zones 5–9. 

A standout in trials at Penn. State and the Iowa Arboretum, this hybrid aster pairs the vivid purple ray florets of New England aster (A. novae-angliae) with aromatic aster’s (A. oblongifolius) fragrant leaves and mounding habit. It reaches three to four feet tall and five to seven feet wide. Full sun, moderate to low water. Zones 4–8.

Although this plant can reach four feet tall in bloom, its mound of foliage remains low to the ground and wiry stems carry its dark purple bottlebrush flowers. This growth habit makes it a good “see-through” plant, like Verbena bonariensis (which it could sub for). Full sun, moderate water. Zones 4–7.

Voted 2026 Perennial Plant of the Year by the Perennial Plant Association (PPA), this prairie grass cultivar offers deeper green summer foliage than the straight species and a shorter stature (five feet). Red-purple markings begin to show up in summer and the foliage turns solid dark purple to near black by fall. Full sun, moderate to low water. Avoid overly fertile soil. Zones 3–9.

Color-changing single to semi-double flowers appear in profusion in late spring, turning from red to peachy pink. ‘Mai Tai’ is a vigorous grower with dark purple flower stems rising from a dense, foot-round clump of ruffled leaves. Full to part sun, moderate water. Zones 4–8.

Selected for its clean foliage that emerges with red tips, this nativar reaches four feet tall when it blooms in late summer, with spikes of light pink pollinator-friendly flowers. Full sun, heavy to moderate water. Zones 4–8.

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