Tuesday, October 27, 2009

favorite things - Sandy's Plants Incorporated


I had to make a trip to Sandy's Plants today, and it reminded me just how much I enjoy going there. It's a good thing that it's about an hour away, otherwise I'd be spending half my paycheck there. Sandy's is a huge wholesale/retail nursery in Mechanicsville, Virginia, and probably the best thing about visiting the nursery is getting in one of their handy golf carts and scooting around the extensive grounds.

The other great things about the nursery are the large display garden behind Sandy's house and the crazy animal sculptures scattered around the property. Check out a Tidewater Gardener's post to see pictures of the sculptures.

Sandy McDougle (that's her in the blue at the beginning and end of the slideshow) is very friendly, and has the kind of authentic Virginia accent that I love to listen to. She got her start in the nursery business kind of by accident. Years ago, Sandy had a large patch of creeping phlox growing in her yard. When a local landscaper knocked on her door and offered to by the plants right out of her ground, an idea was sparked.

Now Sandy has a HUGE assortment of plants, many of which you won't find anywhere else. Sandy and Elise Zylstra, the sales manager, really know their stuff and are always on the lookout for new varieties. If you want to go, keep an eye out for the spring open house (with slideshows and food) or their annual Maymont Day in May, when 50% of their sales go the Maymount foundation to help support the beautiful gardens there. I'm sure you'll leave with a car full of plants!

5 comments:

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

I love going to Sandy's!! I don't think I have covered the entire place YET!!
She is most kind having donated a bunch of plants last year to the Learning Garden.
So you gave a nice history of Sandy's,(which is interesting- I did not know that before) but what did you buy??

Les said...

Thanks for the link, I really appreciate it. So what did you take home to the garden?

How It Grows said...

I had to get some replacement plants for a church up in Weems: rudbeckia, heuchera, echinacea. I also had to get some things for a client here in Williamsburg, all shade loving plants: hellebore, autumn fern, epimedium, toad lily, solomon's seal. And I picked up some natives for my garden at the Williamsburg Library: prickly pear, little bluestem, and gaillardia.

Jennifer G. Horn said...

Great blog -- thanks so much for commenting on my post Monday, so that I could subsequently comment here. Your site makes me miss Virginia so much!
Jennifer

How It Grows said...

Thanks for visiting Jennifer - I'm glad I came across your blog.