Maid To Garden

In The Garden Of Good Living - October 2010 - Where do we find the plants we want?
by Pat Hendrickson

If you are a garden or plant enthusiast, you might read all sorts of material that tempt you to buy a new hybrid or an old favorite. I subscribe to a few garden magazines which inevitably lead me to try and find that one item that I'd like to add to a garden bed, container, or arbor.

I run into this problem all the time when I'm trying to help someone design a landscape or garden bed. I can dream all I want about the perfectly sized False cypress or the many varieties of Hellebore. But when I try to track this specific plant down, it's almost certain that I'll find it instantly available, but only on-line; and once delivered, the plant looks woefully small and immature. It's going to take five years to look like the picture in the magazine! Those kinds of purchases certainly won't make much of an impression on my clients.

I'm not a big plant dealer, so I'm not getting any great deals from the wholesale nurseries that dangle, fleetingly, in my peripheral vision. They're all around us - the Eastern Shore of Virginia, Pennsylvania, northern Delaware. But I can only buy from those wholesalers willing to sell a small number of plants at a time. Fortunately, we have quite a few nurseries in our area that are willing to work with me, and will give me a small discount since I am licensed to do landscaping as a business.

I've also found that a lot of these nurseries are more than willing to get those plants I seek; but I have to time it right. Most plants arrive at the nurseries in the spring. So, if I can make my request in the fall, when the nurseries are planning their purchases, there's a good chance I can get what I want. But that still requires planning ahead! That almost never happens.

As a partial solution, I've put together a small list of nurseries and garden centers that I use on a regular basis. I'd love to add to it if anyone has suggestions. But this may be helpful to those of you who need resources to find that one plant you desire, at a size you can be happy with right from the start.

This is the end of the season for nurseries and they are looking to exhaust their inventory for the year. You never know what kind of deals are waiting for you this time of year, and the planting conditions are perfect!

Pat's Recommendations

East Coast Garden Center
Cordrey Road, Millsboro, DE
http://www.eastcoastgardencenter.com

Eastern Ornamentals
Bakerfield Rd, Milton, DE

Jeff's Greenhouses
Main Street, Bethel, DE

Lord's Landscaping
Rt 26, Ocean View, DE

Mapelwood Gardens
Nassawadox, VA
http://www.maplewoodgardens.com

Pepper's Greenhouses
Cedar Creek Road, Milton, DE
http://www.accentsforhomeandgarden.com

Roots Landscaping
Rt 113, Frankford, DE

Thomas Gardens
Rt 13, New Church, VA
http://www.thomasgardensva.com

Village Green
Route 50, West Ocean City, MD

Vines Creek Nursery
Omar Road, Frankford, DE
http://www.vinescreeknursery.com

Other Nursery's That Have Native Plants

Chesapeake Nurseries
27588 Pemberton Drive, Salisbury, MD
http://www.chesapeakenurseries.com

Ferntree Nursery
Denton, MD

Harrington's Nursery
12405 Eveland Road, Ridgely, MD
http://harringtonsnursery.com

Hooked on Plants
35557 Airport Road, Rehoboth Beach DE

How Sweet It Is Produce & Garden Center
Rt. 13 South, Eden, MD
http://howsweetproduce.com

Upper Shore Harvest Directory
http://www.kentcounty.com/harvest/nurseries.htm

Waters Edge Nursery
6526 Dion Rd, Federalsburg, MD
http://watersedge.synthasite.com

Woodland Nursery
31106 Johnson Rd, Salisbury, MD
http://www.woodlandnursery.org

Click here for a PDF list of nurseries that specialize in native plants.

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