All the Dirt About the Nursery

Wanna know about the nursery??

To know about the nursery, let’s skip back to the beginning for a bit. I started in early 2011 as a propagation nursery. It has stayed that way for the last 14 years now. Most of the plants you will find for sale here, I have propagated and grown right here in the backyard. Our property is just a shade smaller than a half-acre in size.

Like our sign says, “Landscape Shrubs and Perennials”, that is what you will find here at the nursery. Most of the plants we sell here are also only $7.98 each! There are plants here that cost more, but they are still a great price! We sell most plants as a “trade gallon” size. The pots are about 6 inches in diameter and about 6 1/2 inches deep.

Boy was I green…

If you’re like me, you think that most, if not all, plants are grown from seed. I was really green, pun intended, about how to propagate and grow plants. I joined an online group of growers from all over the country. We are the Backyard Growers Group and we share knowledge and experiences so that we all can learn from our mistakes and successes.

Needless to say, I have learned a lot of growing knowledge in the last 14 years. It has not all gone smoothly. Many plants were sacrificed to get to this point. I’d be lying if I said that I have it all down pat now. Successes just out distance the failures.

I start thousands of plants here every year now. Most of them start as sticks, sometimes with no leaves and even during winter. Now you understand how little I knew when I started. Since our yard is full of plants for propagating, you as a customer have a great advantage because you can actually see what the plants will look like as they grow.

Plant hoarder or collector??

Since I am also kind of a plant collector, there are lots of other interesting things growing here in our yard. Over 100 different varieties of Hostas and more than 40 Japanese Maples are growing in our yard. There are actually over 400 different plant varieties growing in our small half-acre property.

I grow these plants from the little sticks with no roots into small plants that are exactly like the plant they came from. That doesn’t really happen when you grow seeds. These little miniature plants are called liners and spend a year or two getting big enough to sell. The plants that we sell are juveniles, teenagers as you will, and are very vigorous growers. They grow quickly when you plant them in your ground.

Besides getting young and vigorous plants for a good price, you are getting a lot more plants for your yard for less than those same plants in a larger size. We save you more green while getting more green for your yard. I won’t even mention having smaller pots to handle and smaller holes to dig.

Shopping in the nursery…

Something somewhat unique about our nursery is it’s one of the few places that you can actually shop right in the nursery. You actually see what really goes on to make and grow plants. Everything that we do here is out in the open, and all that come here are able to see all about the nursery. No curtains hiding anything here.

There are actually a number of other growers from around the country that have visited to find out about the nursery. They want to see how so much gets done on a small property. Members from our group from California to New York, Ohio to Georgia, and places in between have visited here.

There are limits about the nursery…

If all of this sounds intriguing to you, you are welcome to stop by for a visit. There are always many choices of plants to buy for your yard. There may not be large numbers of a variety however because we only have so much space. If we are out of something, there are usually some younger ones growing and waiting to take their turn in the spotlight.

I do sell rooted cuttings and liner sized plants wholesale as group purchases to other growers. I also buy in several special varieties of trees to add to our sales. Grafted varieties of Japanese Maples, Dogwoods, fruit trees and other ornamentals, depending on the time of the season. I also take advantage of special purchases and pass them along with a special deal to you. All of these things are subject to availability.

I’m a licensed and inspected nursery in the state of Pennsylvania. I have the ability to purchase special plants in quantity from nurseries around the country. I may also be able to find that special plant or tree that you have been looking for.

If there is more that you would like to know about the nursery, you are more than welcome to stop in for a personal visit. I am willing to help aspiring plant people any way that I can. Remember that there was a time I knew absolutely nothing about what I do now.