About Us


Shady Gardens Nursery is a family business operated by me and my husband.  We started our nursery many years ago so I could stay home with our children. As our business grew, we began selling plants online through ebay,  shipping native plants all over the country.  Eventually our customers brought us so much success that we launched our own website, http://www.shadygardensnursery.com. We don't need ebay much anymore, and have found we now have more success on our own.


I love plants, all kinds of plants, but especially unusual, rare, hard to find plants.  Native plants--plants that occur naturally on their own in and around the Southeast where I live--are especially attractive to me.  It excites me that a plant can grow and withstand our heat and humidity and lack of summer rainfall, yet thrive and remain beautiful.

 
I began gardening in 1988.  Immediately I was hooked.  In the year 2000, I was fortunate to learn of the Master Gardener Program here and was able to complete the Master Gardener Course although I found out we were expecting our second child right after beginning classes. I sure learned a lot from the instruction I received.

After having our 2nd child, I just couldn't go back to work, leaving our children in someone else's care.  When I began having plant sales here at home, I realized I could actually make money doing what I love! That's when I started Shady Gardens Nursery.  We offer a wide variety of plants, not just shade-lovers. We specialize in Native Plants and rare plants, focusing on drought-tolerant plants for the garden. 


In our online store you'll find many rare and unusual native plants such as Native Azaleas (Rhododendron austrinum, alabamense, prunifolium, and others), Bigleaf Magnolia (Ashei, Macrophylla, and Tripetala), and Sweet Shrub (Calycanthus) as well as Aspidistra, Hellebores, and Rohdea.


Shady Gardens is actually named after me.  My parents called me Shady as a child, and that nickname stuck.


I spend all of my spare time seeking out unusual plants.  I buy plants through ebay, mail-order, specialty nurseries, and of course, any nursery within driving distance.  I propagate most of the plants myself. 

My native plants are all nursery propagated--not dug from the wild.  We have display gardens here at the house where we plant as much as we can to help further the growth of these unusual plants.
  
As our children have grown, becoming more involved in all sorts of activities, our business has evolved into a mail order nursery, giving us time to get to all those activities our children enjoy! In addition to that, we're involved in a number of volunteer projects around town, so please don't drive all the way down here without first contacting us to find out if we'll be here. I hope you'll visit Shady Gardens Nursery.








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