Bountiful Exotics Nursery

Serviceberry first harvest at Bountiful Exotics Nursery, running early like everything else this season.

Worth talking about, in a way too long post, but why?

This Utah native came through the late frosts without missing a beat while traditional fruit trees across Utah took heavy losses.

It's drought tolerant.
Zone 3 hardy.
Genuinely unbothered by our alkaline soils.
No amendments, no coddling, no fighting the site.

Eight or nine common names depending on where you grew up. Serviceberry. Saskatoon. Juneberry. Shadbush.
I call it Utah blueberry because it earns every part of that comparison except the one that matters most in Utah, which is actually growing here without a fight.
(Looking at you, SNARKY Blueberry bushes.)

The taste surprises people every time. Cherry and apple family compounds give it an earthy, pea-like finish behind the sweetness. Think backup vocal in your jam or pie, not the headliner, but the reason the whole thing sounds better.

At my nursery, my test garden is my side yard in Bountiful. I grow things, I watch what happens, and occasionally I let a four-year-old put something in her mouth and report back.

Blackberries, thornless of course, were a home run hit. No surprise.

The 'serviceberry = blueberry' comparison did not, however, survive that review. She was unconvinced. I am cautiously optimistic more berries will go in the mouth that don't actually come back out as we both get used to them. This is the most honest product testing available to modern horticulture. You're welcome.

It grows wild in Utah canyons. You tried this berry as a scout at camp. Yeah, it is that berry.
Your yard is not that different from where it already calls home.

Here is what I am actually thinking about though.
Hotter summers.
Drier years.
Damaging frosts with no business showing up during blossom season.

A yard heavily weighted toward traditional stone fruit carried real risk this spring. Not a reason to grab a chainsaw. A reason to think about what grows next to them.

Serviceberry, figs, brambles, a pomegranate in a protected spot. When your apricots and peaches and cherries sit a year out, something else is still producing. Not a complicated idea, just a diversified yard. The financial sector figured this out. Now it's our turn as gardeners.

The more I garden, the less I want to fight nature.
Stop growing blueberries.
STOP IT.
Diversify your yard.
Try serviceberries.

The best time to plant one was twenty years ago.
The second best time is right now.
Grab a shovel.
Anyone else eating serviceberries right now?