Sunny Border CEO, Pierre Bennerup, receives the Liberty Hyde Bailey Award

Kensington, Conn. — Sunny Border Nurseries, Inc. is very happy to announce that Pierre Bennerup has been selected by the American Horticultural Society (AHS) to receive the 2018 Liberty Hyde Bailey Award.

This prestigious award is given each year to an individual who has made significant lifetime contributions to the field of horticulture.

Pierre has had a key role in advancing the Perennial Industry, since he purchased his family nursery almost 50 years ago to continue the legacy of his father, Robert Bennerup, also a revered member of the horticultural world. From his earliest days in the business, Bennerup is credited with developing the process of container-grown, finished plant production, a process that is widely used in the industry now. Throughout the years, he has continuously worked to promote new and existing perennials, herbs and tropical perennials. Bennerup himself coined the term Temperennial for his tropical perennial program, a term that is widely utilized now throughout the industry.

Bennerup's credits include being a founding member of the Perennial Plant Association (PPA), one of the most
influential trade organizations in horticulture since its inception in 1983. He served as the PPA President from 1986–1988 and received the PPA Award of Merit in 1998. He was also founder and first president of the CT Chapter of the Hardy Plant Society as well as past president of the Connecticut Horticultural Society. An accomplished plantsman, Bennerup has introduced more than 50 plant varieties to the marketplace, including the popular Dianthus g. ‘Firewitch’ and Ocimum citriodorum x ‘Pesto Perpetuo’ as well as many others.

The Liberty Hyde Bailey Award will be presented to Pierre and other American Gardeners Awards recipients during a ceremony on June 21, 2018 at the American Horticultural Society’s headquarters in Alexandria, Va.

Bennerup’s accomplishments are also being recognized in a new book by Barbara Paul Robinson, Heroes of Horticulture, Americans Who Transformed the Landscape, published just this month by David R. Godine, Publisher.

Sunny Border Nurseries, Inc. is a leading wholesale grower of quality perennials and Temperennials, including
ornamental grasses, ferns, rock garden/alpine varieties and Sunny B’s Edibles. Sunny Border has served the trade since 1929. With one of the industry’s most extensive plant collections, Sunny Border is noted for introductions such as Veronica ‘Sunny Border Blue’, Pennisetum o. ‘Karley Rose’ and the Coreopsis Big Bang™ Series. Sunny Border serves the trade in New England, R.I., southeastern New York, Long Island, N.J., Md., Del. and Eastern Pa.

For additional information, please contact Lori Burke or visit www.sunnyborder.com.