Nursery jaunt...a short review of Acer Gardens, Tower Farms, etc.

15 years ago

Hey, all! I had a great time being out and about today....the first place I went to was Acer Farms in Deep River, then figured I would backtrack to Broken Arrow, etc as time permitted.

I realize that it's deep in the season, and one can't rely exclusively on current stock as a gauge for if a nursery is "awesome" or "manure".

Acer Gardens in Deep River is AMAZING. PERIOD. WORTH THE DESTINATION DRIVE NOW. HUGE, the place has MANY, MANY plants, well-labeled + priced. (this comes into bearing later in the review).

BIG, well taken care-of gallons were $9.50. Really nice, kept up. I was given a tour by a woman who works there, Baylin. She was FABULOUS....she knew her stuff; bloom times, esthetics, etc. WONDERFUL. I can't say enough good things about her. Based on my visit there, Acer will be the first nursery i hit up for shrub/perennials. I believe that most plants were VERY reasonably priced.

After hitting up Acer, I went to Broken Arrow in Hamden, CT. As soon as I get there, in front of the entrance, I saw some beautiful trees, so i dawdled and read what they were. (show me a gardener that doesn't dawdle and drool over new plants, and I'll show you a liar)

When i walk thru the entrance, one of the employees said "hello?!" in an annoyed tone. Startled, i greeted her back, and proceed to keep walking. She gave an impatient grunt and said "did you want to know anything about the nursery?" (uh, no, i can handle it...thanks) and proceeds to tell me that conifers are over there, A is on this side, z is on that side, yada, yada, "wah-wah-wah-wah" (charlie brown's teacher)

THEN, she hands me a catalog, and tells me prices are listed in the catalog. Are you clucking kidding me?!? So whenever i see a plant, and am curious about how much it is, i have to turn thru the catalog (not a small task) which is divided up into a few sections, and the print is not the largest. WOW. Well, BONUS is that the perennials are 25% off; and judging by how much everything was (coneflowers were $18) that makes it JUST a couple more dollars than what they would be elsewhere. HMMPH. SMALL selection overall, poorly organized, badly labeled. Is it due to being late in the season? No clue.

The good about this nursery is that yes, they do have rarities in stock...for example, caryoptesis "summer sorbet", was very pretty. So i guess i would recommend it for being on a mission, but not just browsing. And watch out for the "gatekeeper".

I visited Tower Farms and Detrich Nursery on Route 10 in Cheshire. Tower Farms was having a perennial sale (1 and 2 qt only) and had nothing but the most common plants left, other than their conifers and speciality shrubs.

Detrich is medium sized, but was mostly empty except for the more common shrubs as well, and they weren't in the best shape either. Actually on the pricey side.

I also visited Andrew's Nursery in Amherst yesterday, and they still had QUITE an assortment of perennials and annuals! Annuals were $3.33, (larger plants and well-taken care of!) and most perennials were $7.99...and if you buy 10 you get the 11th free. The annual selection was still so diverse that when I make baskets next year, I'll be sure to head over there first!

Of course i had to hit up Bay State Perennials in Whately yesterday too....they were promising overall, but not a destination type of place, especially so late in the game.

So, pitchforks awarded based on current stock are:

5 pitchforks: Acer Gardens

3 pitchforks: Andrew's Greenhouse

2 pitchforks: Tower Farms, Detrich Gardens, Broken Arrow

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Comments (12)

diggerdee zone 6 CT
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks for your post. I was thinking of you this morning and wondering where you might have decided to go. You are very ambitious to hit up all these nurseries in one day, lol!

I'm sorry you weren't more pleased with Broken Arrow. I had a very different experience there. I found the staff very helpful and nice; I realized after browsing a bit that the plants, which I thought were good quality, are arranged alphabetically; and I also found the prices to be reasonable and comparable to other nurseries in the area. So sorry you didn't like it. Gee, did you at least go out to the back hoophouse to see the view, lol?

I've never been to Acer Gardens. I will have to put it on my list to visit. Thanks for the reviews!

But hey, wait! What did you get? You did BUY something, didn't you????

:)
Dee
ego45
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I've not visited BAN for a couple of years and things might be different now, but would like to say a several words about that nursery.
Annuals-perennials and all that 'stuff' is not what you are going for to Broken Arrows.
Shrubs and trees are!
They always had a very diverse selection of unusual species and cultivars, sometimes awailable nowhere, but from them only.
That said I should admit that while they always paid great attention to the development of the extensive and healthy root system of the plant, they rarely bother with a shape/form of it meaning they don't prune or shear them to sell you the manicured plant. Therefore, if you are looking for specific 'name' you got it (for a very reasonable price for the size, if you compare them to Forestfarm's prices/sizes +S&H), but it could be loopsided, poorly trimmed or shapeless/overgrown plant.
Nevertheless, their April-May selection of woody plants was (as of two years ago) absolutely amazing while Dr.Janes himself and his right hand, Carl (don't know if he still around) were available to answer all kind of questions (from propagation to problem solving) about all kind of WOODY plants.
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ctreynard
Original Author
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Ego, have you attended their seminars?

I hope that my post was taken to be in real time, and one person's opinion. Let's just say that I'm fussy, and that i will give BAN the benefit of the doubt. I'm not measuring anyone by the ForestFarm measuring stick...my measuring stick happens to be Logees.

That being said, I realized going in that perennial plants weren't their focus. Of course I realize that they are popular, and folks have been carting stuff away left-right since April.

That does NOT mean that i won't be raving about them next April...i'm actually looking forward to seeing this place in the spring.
ctreynard
Original Author
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Plant list: (divided to give you an idea of inventory)

ANDREW'S GREENHOUSE:

Hydrangea "Anomala Petiolaris" (climbing hydrangea)
Schizophragma "Moonlight" (japanese false hydrangea)
Astilbe "Dunkellachs"
Anemone "Honorine Jobert"
Miscanthus "Morning Light"
Carex "Evergold"
Tricyrtis "Lightning Strike"
Euphorbia "Helena's Blush"
Lonicera "Harlequin"
Lavender "Provence"
Alternanthera "red threads"

ACER GARDENS:
Rose "Pat Austin"
Rose "Julia Child"
Plox "Rubymine"
Juncus Effusus "big twister"
Rheingold Arbovitae
Hakonechloa Macra "Aureola"
Oriental lily "Casa Blanca"
Daphne "Carol Mackie"
Boulevard Cypress
Pennistamen "Karley Rose"
Amsonia Hubrichtii
oriental lily "Tom Pouce"

TOWER FARMS:
Juncus "Quartz Creek"

BAY STATE PERENNIALS:
Japanese Burnet
Tamarix "Pink Cascade"
diggingthedirt
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Great plant list! And thanks for the reviews.

I haven't been to BAN, but it's on my short list for my next jaunt to CT, based partly on Ego's comments!
ctreynard
Original Author
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Digging,

You're quite welcome! Let me know what you think of BAN...I'm thinking of attending one of their seminars, and am looking forward to seeing what they have to offer come-springtime!
diggerdee zone 6 CT
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
ctreynard, what do you mean by "plant list" - are these the plants you bought on your nursery jaunt?

:)
Dee
ctreynard
Original Author
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Dee, that is correct. :)

carolyn
prairiemoon2 z6b MA
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Broken Arrow Nursery is also one of my favorites and agree with everything ego said. Here in MA, Weston Nurseries is often the place recommended for Woody plants, but their prices are very high and Broken Arrow will have the same thing in a larger size for significantly less. They also have items that I have looked and looked for and not found other places. Very healthy plant material too. Have had plenty of help and attention when I have visited there. This is actually the first time I have heard of anyone having an unhappy experience there. Sorry to hear it Carolyn, hopefully in the spring, you will have another chance.

Thanks for sharing your reviews...I am always looking for information about different nurseries, so this was a great post.

:-)
pm2
ego45
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I'm glad that my opinion of BAN as a very valuable sourse for woody plants got support and Carolyn's snap-shot review (which should be taken into consideration, of course) will not discourage new and old visitors from making a trip to BAN in SPRING of 2009 :-)

P.S. Now thinking about their notorious non-pruning practice, I think that one who is looking for some odd-shape plants for certain applications MUST go to BAN because nobody else as far as I know could provide you with fairly large plants grown naturaly, as is. LOL.
Saypoint zone 6 CT
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I'm glad you enjoyed Acer Gardens, which is very conveniently tucked away just a few miles from where I live. It's one of my very favorites for variety. Early in the season, the hoop houses are full of a great assortment of less commonly found annuals for containers. They have a very good selection of perennials, and a respectable selection of shrubs. Everything I've ever bought there has been in great condition, and reasonably priced.

Add the lovely drive out there, and you can't lose.
arbo_retum
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
carolyn,
i don't know where you live, but FYI, all the plants you purchased at Acer I saw at Tranquil Lake in Rehoboth Ma. last mo. Thanks much for the report; I look forw to going to Acer. You didn't mention their specialty- japnese maples?? I have never had bad people exper at BAN; quite the opposite for the last 5 yrs I have been making an annual trip there. Hard working helpful knowledgable folks- in my own experience.

Hope you'll also make a future visit to the ct. nurseries Vaiegated Foliage nursery and Quakin' Grass. I reported extensively on both a few yrs ago; try a GW search for more info.
best,
mindy

Nursery jaunt...a short review of Acer Gardens, Tower Farms, etc.

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