4 minute read
Nice nurseries
John Cate of Village Gardens in South Dartmouth with his first shipment of plants.
By Ann Katzenbach S pring is here and it’s about time! After months of cold, grey days, the promise of warm weather and sunshine gets many of us thinking about flowers to brighten our garden beds, decks, terraces, and window boxes. If you are a dig-in-the-dirt gardener or if you simply love having pots of flowers around, the nurseries in this part of New England are ready for you. They’ve been starting seeds, dividing roots, and taking cuttings, setting out trays and trays of plants in warm, moist greenhouses so as to be ready for you when the urge for spring colors gets you out the door.
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Village Gardens
Pansies are the favorite early spring plant. At Village Gardens in Russell’s Mills, John Cate is known for pansies as well as a long list of other annuals and perennials, some familiar like begonias and fuchsia, and others that you can learn about from John ’s long experience. He has a degree in floraculture from UMass Amherst, and has been propagating, growing, and selling plants since 1986. He also does landscape design and is a skilled pruner. In December he plants pansy seeds in one of his greenhouses and by mid-April they bloom in happy shades of orange, purple, yellow, and white.
Ladybugs wander through the green houses at Village Gardens, quietly eating any damaging larva that might be around. John does not use strong chemicals and tries to keep his growing practices as or ganic as possible.
Village Gardens also sells herbs and hanging pots that are artfully planted. Their small nursery shop at 27 Slades Corner Road (just west of Davoll’s General Store) has a small sign and is easy to miss, so go slow.
Village Gardens is located at 27 Slades Corner Road in South Dartmouth, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn more at villagegardensdartmouth.com.
Peckham’s Greenhouse For a contrast in size and variety, Peckham’s Greenhouse at 200 West Main Road in Little Compton has grown over the decades to include house plants, sedums, orchids cacti, shrubs, as well as a vast inventory of annual and perenni al plants. Rick Peckham’s family started the business and he’s been involved with growing plants for 40 years.
In March, while ocean temperatures keep the land chilly, his greenhouses are filled with endless trays of plants, grow ing silently and, one imagines, happily, in the warm, moist air. These have all been scheduled to be ready at just the right time. Pansies go into the large outdoor
sales area in April along with some hardy herbs, and May first is when the first big push comes. Tender plants may wait an other week or so. Gardeners come from far and wide to indulge in these quality plants.
Peckhams Greenhouse is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn more at peckhamsgreen house.com.
Paradise Farm
At Paradise Farm, found at 103 Cadman Neck Road in Westport, Shirley and Ted Robbins grow fruits and vegetables but specialize in herbs, sold retail and whole sale by Shirley from their greenhouses. She stocks many varieties of the favored culinary herbs that often double as dec orative plants in the garden. Imagine a greenhouse filled with lavender, rose mary, mint, sage, and lemon verbena. A scented workplace!
Most of the herbs start from small plants that arrive each March on a tractor trailer that makes its way up the coast from Pennsylvania, stopping along the way to deliver baby herbs to nurseries along the route. The babies are trans planted into four-inch pots and nurtured until they have become established. As they grow, Shirley clips off small branch es and starts new plants established. It’s an ongoing process throughout the summer months with a big supply of seed-started basil added in as the weath er warms up.
Paradise Hill Farm is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn more at guide.farm fresh.org.
Whatever level of interest and skill you have as a gardener, this is the time to get outdoors and out to a local nursery. Now you know how much preparation has led to the geranium or rosemary or hanging basket of begonias you take home. You might even try something completely new this year. Ask for advice at your local nursery where growers are on intimate terms with their plants.
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