With spring being a great time to hit the nurseries, due to all the new plants coming in, I thought it would be fun to find the best nurseries to visit.
My personal favorites are:
Tinker Grove Gardens in Colleyville
Rohde's in Garland
Redenta's in Arlington
Green Mama's in North Richland Hills
Weston Gardens in Fort Worth (I went there for the first time last week)
Natural Gardener in Austin
How about everyone else?
Dennis
Favorite nurseries?
And don't forget Petal Pushers in Cedar Hill.
I like all of those. I also like Northaven Gardens and Monday's. The human company at Monday's can be trying sometimes, but the plants are great.
In Austin, I'll add:
Barton Springs Nursery
The Great Outdoors
It's About Thyme
Caldwell's in Rosenberg
Green Gate in Seguin
"I like all of those. I also like Northaven Gardens and Monday's. The human company at Monday's can be trying sometimes, but the plants are great."
My wife and I both agree about Monday's. He is an interesting fellow, but the plants do always look great and he usually has a nice assortment.
I'll add Metro Maples in Fort Worth. He has just about any kind of Japanese Maple you can think of and the owner and staff are beyond helpfull.
Thanks for the suggestions! I can definitely see a trip to Petal Pushers and Monday's in the next few weeks....
I'll also have to try some of those Austin nurseries on my next trip through to visit the mother-in-law.
Dennis
Anyone have any favorite Houston nurseries? I never know where to go when I am over there. Been to Caldwell's, that was amazing. But I'd love some more suggestions.
My favorites are Rohde's (Garland), North Haven Gardens (Dallas) and Shades of Green (Frisco). I also love Blue Moon in Edom, but that's a once-a-year trip due to the distance involved.
Carla
I've just made a bed for vegetables and would like to try transplants this year (if things go well then I may get motivated enough to start my own seedlings next year...) Does anyone have any recommendations for good nurseries for veggies?
Dennis
For organic veggies, the best place I know is the Natural Gardener in Austin. In fact, if you want organics and selection, The Natural Gardener is probably the best I've seen. Schumachers in New Braunfels has a very wide selection of plants in general especially in salvias, but not many veggies or herbs. The African Violet Nursery in Boerne, although not organic particularly, has an awesome selection of very hardy things. The african violet part is only a very small part. I think they have something like 5 or 6 greenhouses plus all the stuff outside.
Blue_eyes,
The Arbor Gate in Tomball (just outside of Houston) is a good one. I got $4.99 Adenium obesums last year! Also A Plant for All Seasons down SH 249 is a favorite during lunchtime for me. Its a little smaller than The Arbor Gate so I can usually make it all around in an hour! I live in Cypress so that the closest I have to Houston. :)
where is monday's?
That's the one on Broadway, Barb, just before Wynn Joyce/La Prada.
is monday's where the owner is a butt? so to get there i would go down I-30 and exit belt line. go north until belt line turns into broadway. how far is it from I-30?
Yup, that's the one. :) Belt LIne and Broadway are the same road when you exit I-30. You'd just go right and follow it. We probably don't want me to make a wild stab at the distance--I get people lost that way. :) It's a couple of blocks after you cross the Oates Rd stoplight, on the right.
The part I love to visit is inside, where he keeps the more unusual things. Don't know if he has anything in yet, though.
I love going to Gunther's Greenhouse on occasion just to see the fabulous orchids he has in the back. Truly stunning. Gunther himself is a very friendly and interesting man and will always stop to chat and answer questions. They have some other nice tropicals there too.
(Gunther's is on Campbell Road in Dallas/Richardson area, just west of 75.)
Bonnie's Greenhouse in Waco. Lots of stuff that will grow in our area. Nice staff and great place to just visit and roam.
Anne
Okay, I have to go out to Green Mama's or Pedal Pushers today for a specific rose that they both are carrying. Who all has been to either in the last week or so and can say if they have some other stock in right now? I have been to Pedal Pusher's and it's a great nursery, but have not been to Green Mama's before.
I haven't been to Green Mamas lately, so I can't say what they have right now, but it is a very interesting nursery, they are heavy on organic supplies and accessories.
LOL Nosey is just fine. :-) I am getting Thomas Affleck. We just had landscaping installed in the front yard this week. Well, most of it's put in - they have to finish Monday. Anyway, they wanted to put compacta nandina (blech!) in one spot against a south brick wall and I had them leave it out. It's the perfect spot for Thomas Affleck, according to the growth habit seen here.... http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/rosesant/msg0308143130314.html
Thanks Josephine. I have not been there yet, so I kind of want to go there. But, i'd rather go to the best place. Since you've been to both which do you like better?
I would say for plant choices Petal Pushers is better, plus the ride over to their place is lovely.
Yes, very true about the drive. On my way to Petal pushers.... Thanks!
Well, Petal Pushers was great. I got Thomas Affleck and could not resist getting 'Hwy 290 Pink Buttons' too, as it's been on my wish list and will fit nicely at the front of a bed.
Then as I was going to pay, I spied a few rough looking roses in the Clearance area. I sashayed over to see what cultivar they were and there were a couple 'Fellemberg' in 2 gallon pots. I had just been looking at pictures of it that one online this morning and thinking I would really like one. Woohoo! There was no price so asked the owner how much and she said I could have it for $2.00. :-) Now I just need to decide where it will go.
Wow! that was a great find and a lovely ride too, you couldn't ask for more.
Yep, you can see how much I love pink roses too after looking at my choices. :) The Fellemberg is really beat up. The soil level is about halfway down the pot and it looks like a grafted rose, but what's $2.00 when gas is over $3.00 a gallon and I drove 100 miles roundtrip (ouch). Tomorrow I am going to trim off the dead growth, give it a light dose of fertilizer, and some extra soil, if I don't decide where to plant it.
I was surprised too but thought maybe some grower had plenty of rootstock and not much time to root. I may be wrong and it may just be lumpy from die off of limbs. It was a big lump right at soil level. I just grabbed the best looking one and checked out. I was going to do more inspecting when I got home, but was needed in the house, so I have not had a chance yet. Not sure of the grower. There was a plastic tag partially buried that may have the grower name so I will have to check in the morning.
Well, upon further inspection, it is not grafted, just a lumpy area where large stems died back. It's from Antique Rose Emporium, according to the tag. I cleaned it up, gave it some Organic Rose Fertilizer and potted it in a nice pot for a corner of my back porch for now. It has lots of leaf buds and really does not look bad.
Looks great! Can't beat it for $2.
Mom and I will hopefully be making a trip to Austin to go nursery hopping later this week. Does anyone have good directions for getting to the Natural Gardener? We always get lost because mapquest is wrong. And possibly directions to some of the other good Austin nurseries?
Thanks! Kim
Kim, Try Google maps - it is correct. I used it when I went in the fall of 2006, and did not get lost. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&q=John+Dromgoole's+Natural+Gardener&fb=1&cid=0,0,9107142360350275359&near=Austin,+TX&cd=1&ll=30.261143,-97.89093&spn=0.080956,0.188141&z=13&iwloc=A
From Downtown, I took MoPac to Southwest Pkwy. From SW Pkwy, I took a left on Travis Cook Rd. and then a right on Old Bee Caves Rd.
I really want to make that trip to ARE too. But I know I would come home with multiple roses and no where to plant them. Kind of like the Fellemberg I just bought. LOL The front yard has to be at least somewhat traditional and I already have 6 Ducher roses and the Thomas Affleck squeezed in, so I don't think I can manage to find another Rose spot there. The only spots left in my perennial bed in the backyard are against a North facing fence so too shady. It may end up at the bottom of the hill against the arbor. If so, I need another for the other side of the arbor though. Now, I wish I would have bought all 3 at that price. I could have traded them to someone if I did not use them.
I experimented putting a lot of roses in shade (about 4hrs sun) and growing up into trees last year. Some are doing surprisingly well, still too early to recommend tho. They're growing great, just don't know if they'll bloom well. I'd hate for you to be without roses just because of shade, we'll find you one.lol
I'd love to hear about your results after this year. Luckily, I am not quite without. :) The perennial bed in the back already has Julia Child, Sweet Pea (another Pioneer Rose from ARE), Souvenir de la Malmaison, Don Juan, Tropicana, and Peace. I also have New Dawn at the the back of the yard against the iron fencing, though it was smothered by grass last year and has not been cleaned up yet. All those roses were put in last spring and I love them and want more. I have a Word Document with a table of rose details and with notes on what makes them desirable. :-)
I like the Texas Native Plant Nursery - - - it's on Interstate 10 (on the east-bound side) between San Antonio and Kerrville.
Three questions for everyone regarding tomorrow's trip to Austin...
1) Is there an easy way to The Natural Gardener that does not involve the toll road?
2) What is the name of the place with all the pink flamingos? I went there last year but can't for the like of me remember the name to look up directions.
3) How do you get to It's About Thyme? We tried to go there last year but the directions actually led us to the flamingo place, and we never did find the other.
Thanks!! Kim