In the Mobile area, the best place that sell palms, subtropicals & tropical perennials is Bayside Tropical Nursery, owned & operated by Danny Wilson. They carry almost every variety of palm hardy for the area and they focus on selling palms small enough to be loaded by hand into anybody's truck, which is a nice thing. Across the bay, there's impressive Davis Nurseries right on Hwy 59 in Summerdale. Their palm display is almost overwhelming due to the size & stature of the palms. Of course, they don't sell just palms; they sell a variety of other plants as well. Not far down the road is Magnolia Nursery & Garden Center. I haven't visited the place, but what I have seen from the road looks very decent with a nice assortment of palms and other plants. Forgive my focus on palms... I'm a palm enthusiast at heart. Well, I think I chose to focus on places that has impressed me with a nice variety of palms is because, truthfully, the Mobile area has many competing nurseries and garden centers and a lot of them don't really stock up on an assortment of palms. To put this into perspective, there are about five locally owned places where I can buy plants within 10 miles of where I live, but none of them have a nice variety of palms, just at most 3 species.

Seems like a difficult business to be in some days. :-) I did a quick search on amazon and came up with this link and another at the bottom of my post. http://www.amazon.com/Operate-Financially-Successful-Landscaping-Business/dp/1601382286/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1279400638&sr=1-1-fkmr2 I would say find a business that is successful and see if you can pick their brain. We seem to be seeing a lot of nurseries going out of business, isn't that true? I would think it's expensive especially if you have to keep greenhouses going. I know Lexington Gardens went out of business a few years ago, and you could see it coming for quite a few years. I was told by someone in management that the cost of fuel to run the greenhouse became outrageous. I know the owner was older and started to have health issues too. As a potential customer, I like that you are inclined toward natives and would love an organic direction as well. I travel a distance to make purchases that are in line with those two basic ideas. I drive 50mins to the NEWFS to buy native, mostly organically grown plant material. I drive the same distance to purchase organic vegetable starts in the spring, in years I don't start my own. I travel to Maine and combine a day trip to justify doing it, to purchase popular perennial and annual 'plugs' once a year in early spring, because so many nurseries that are close to me don't offer a plug size and have just about stopped offering the old '6 pack' size. I buy tiny shrubs from Bluestone Perennials because no one local offers that size and it makes it really affordable. I think a lot of people buy from them because of that and their frequent sales and great customer service. I was going to suggest that if you could model your business on one that didn't need heated greenhouses, you might be ahead of the game. Don't know if that is possible. It would certainly cut your costs, but limit what you offer. Anyway, maybe others can offer their own reasons why they shop at one place or another and what they are looking for in a nursery. Here is a link that might be useful: So you want to start a plant nursery

Hi, I just found this thread and with it, some great ideas for some new places to try. We live on the North Shore (MA) on the seacoast just south of the the MA/NH line. Here are our favorites: Our Favorite: NunanÂs Florist and Greenhouse 269 Central Street, Georgetown, MA 01833 www.nunans.com (978) 352-2927â Great variety of annuals, perennials, herbs, shrubs, trees, vines, ferns, native plants, fruit trees, and unusual plants as well. They also have mulch, lots of gorgeous statuary, garden furniture, and a large and airy shop with every doo dad and tool you can imagine, and a full service florist shop. Prices are excellent and at the end of the season, you can get some amazing bargains. First Runner Up: Corliss Brothers Nursery 31 Essex Rd. Ipswich , MA 01938 http://www.corlissbros.com (978) 356-5422 Long time family owned nursery  they have great sales, an email "club", and you can find some wonderful things here. ItÂs a hike for us but we make the trip at least a couple of times a year. Second Runner Up: Wolf Hill 60 Turnpike Road, Ipswich, MA 01938 www.wolfhillgardencenter.com (978) 356-6342 Lots of perennials that you donÂt see in some of the larger nurseries. All kinds of "different" and unusual garden knick knacks and furbelows. Staff is vert knowledgeable and helpful. Their "first" store was in Gloucester but the Ipswich site is closer to us. CanÂt compare them, as we have never gone to Gloucester, but weÂve gotten some great plants at the Ipswich store plus some fabulous statuary. First Choice for Water Garden Suppliers and Guidance Country Gardens 157 Central Street, Rowley, MA 01969 http://www.countrygardens-rowley.com (800)628-0565 (978) 948-2124 Water garden specialists and our only place to shop for things for our pond. They are the expertÂs experts and both Bill and Lisa are always there, always ready to offer guidance and advice, and answer questions. They sponsor a large regional two day pond tour each year in June. First Choice for herbs, heirloom tomatoes, and herbal products. The Herb Farmacy 30 Elmwood Street, Salisbury, Massachusetts 01952 http://www.theherbfarmacy.com (978)834-7879 Best local source for herbs, vegetable plants, heirloom tomatoes, all organically grown. One thing to remember, they accept cash and checks but no credit cards. They give lectures on various topics throughout the area. I attended one sponsored by our local garden club and it was fabulous.

Sandi, if you are in southern Wisconsin check out the Flower Factory near Stoughton, south of Madison. They have some very nice demonstration gardens, as well as a large variety of perennials, and especially hostas and daylilies.Take your checkbook--They don't take credit cards. If you want a trip to northern Wisconsin, plan to stop at the Winter Greenhouse near the village of Winter in Sawyer county.The demonstration gardens are spectacular all spring and summer. They are one of the best sources for perennials--healthy, moderately priced plants and a very large listing. They also have some wildflowers, shrubs and water plants and annuals early in the season. I think their website is: www.wintergreenhouse.com