I got the balance of my Burgess order, so I figured I'd follow up. It seems to be a definite "some things are better than others" type of place, so hopefully this will help someone figure out what is most worth it: Rose bushes and peony trees (bare root) came looking quite decent, and all of them have continued to be alive in my garden. A few have been slow to leaf out, but nothing arrived dead or rotted, and everything seems to be getting along now. Humming bird vines arrived looking like sticks - they were alive, but sticks. All are still alive, and one is leafing out, so, OK. The things are supposed to be impossible to kill, so I'm hopeful. Clematis came as cute little spider-looking root nodes. Fairly fresh looking. They have all sprouted up nicely. Honesuckle vines looked like a bit of a mess when they arrived - it was hard to tell what was supposed to be planted, what was root vs. vine, etc. I've got nothing out of those yet, and for all I know I planted the darn things upside down. Day lilies came as nice little root bunches, and all are sprouting up nicely now. The bare root trees I had received earlier all still appear to be alive (they're flexible and show green if you scratch the bark), but not a one has leafed out yet. The little potted lemon and lime trees I got came looking good, but the lime was suffering such a mineral deficiency I'm still not sure it will make it. Maybe 3 years from now I'll have a stand of nice little trees started for next to nothing and I'll pat myself on the back, but I'm not awfully impressed on the tree front just yet. Overall I'm still giving Burgess a solid C. I'd never accept it if I'd paid anything approaching a usual nursery price for what I got, but overall I think I got what I paid for.

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

Too late for today but I visited the Chichester NH garden on Gavin Hill yesterday. My husband enjoyed seeing the buildings. The early 1800s brick home was originally a hotel. Kitchen garden was enclosed by a wonderful tall hedge (owner has been gardening for 30 years) with a gorgeous climbing hydrangea covered entrance. Deep perennial bed. Wonderful views. Nice beds lining the final part of the driveway. etc. The owner said the garden is also on the Chichester garden tour which will be held 7/20, rain date 7/21. The Lane Garden in Canterbury is wonderful with strong Japanese influence, exposed ledges and lots of granite. It might be on the local garden tour which is how I saw it the first time. The owner gives a guided tour. Fortnam gardens is an extreme garden with lots of tropical on a fairly typical small suburban lot. The owner is a wonderful artist and photographer as well. The water feature alone is fantastic plus I love her garden accents. I think she has over 300 pots planted in addition to her landscape. Not much lawn left. She now has to use space in a commercial greenhouse to winter over plants. Used to just use her basement. I'm not sure if she posts on the perennial forum anymore. Stunning would be an apt word for her garden.

Plymouth (MA) Garden Club. Our plant sale is this Saturday May 21 from 9 to noon at the Chiltonville Congregational Church 6 River St Plymouth MA. We have very nice plants both divisions and starts carefully tagged and packed, as well as kitchen treats, attic treasures and boutique items. Come early for best selection. Benefits scholarships and civic beautification projects in our town. Thanks NH Babs for this thread.