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    Emily Fazio

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Visiting Plantasia Nursery

October 19, 2011

We took a day trip to Ithaca yesterday and returned with a Jeep full of plant loot.

Yeah, we bought stuff at Plantasia Nursery.

It was the kind of excursion where one person (moi) ends up straddling a shamrock dwarf inkberry the entire 2.5 hour drive home in the backseat. Kind of like every IKEA trip I’ve ever been on, but leafier.

No big deal, I'm OK sitting in the backseat while Pete chauffeurs my butt home.

Making the Jeep into a jungle.

Wait, let’s back this thing up for a second: Once upon a time (4 years ago), the parents of my first college roommate/still close friend bought an established nursery in Spencer, NY, a rural town just outside of Ithaca, NY. Plantasia Nursery had been in existance for 14 years at that time (this season marked it’s 18th year, whoop-whoop). They’re known in the area for phenom potted plant varieties, and have over the years provided for landscapers and other wholesalers, including local education centers like Cornell University – you’ve probably heard of it.

Plantasia Nursery

New owners (and first-time business owners), Kevin and Anne McKenna have emerged as horticulturist rock stars in their new field over the last four years, and along with their team of PLN-certified landscaping pros, have maintained a stunning, and expanding nursery.

I can’t say that I’ve met a nursery I didn’t like, but this one takes the cake.

Plantasia Nursery

Plantasia Nursery Anchored in the rolling hillside of Finger Lakes region, the changing leaves are pretty spectacular this time of year too.

Plantasia Nursery

Because I know the family, more than once I’ve been shuttled via golf cart to tour the property and learn about plants. But this time, back with a budget and serious plan to purchase, I was amped to pick and choose what I wanted for my own yard. Since, as you saw on Monday, I now have lots of garden space to populate.

It didn’t hurt that Plantasia’s fall sale was in full swing (and is, through the end of the season, so stop by if you’re local). The discount associated wasn’t planned, which is probably why we felt A-OK jamming the Jeep full of new, luxurious foliage. At a total cost of just over $200 not including three Burning Bush plants for Pete’s parents home, we stayed below our loose budget of $300 too. Saaa-weet. Would have bought more, just couldn’t squeeze it in safely.

No big surprise, I snapped lots of pictures to remember some of the plants I liked best as we browsed the property (for three hours, no joke, and really, it was like every IKEA trip I’ve been on). You can see more detail on each of these pictures in the captions when you click to enlarge or hover your cursor over the image.

Burning Bush (for as far as we could see). Winter Red Winterberry Helmond Pillar Barbery (I didn't buy any, but have a serious crush. Maybe for lining the driveway someday.) Gold Mops! A beautifully colored Cypress. Beautiful plants. An assortment. Hello, my delicious Cardinal Dogwood Shrubs. Profusion Beautyberries. I'm not sure I've ever seen something named so wonderfully.

The variety was just remarkable. This, coming from someone who has spent an obscene amount of time in the Home Depot gardening department this season, local nurseries have umpteen million more species to choose from. Seeing it all in person made us appreciate all landscaping and established shrubbery on the drive home (“Hey, I hope our dogwood grows that tall!”).

When it came time to narrowing down the final pieces for our own yard, I snapped some iPhone photos for quick reference: 

One Cardinal Dogwood Bush, please.

One Cardinal Dogwood Bush, please. Two Winter Red Winterberries, please.

Two Winter Red Winterberries, please. Three Shamrock Dwark Inkberry plants, please.

Three Shamrock Dwarf Inkberry plants, please. And how about three Mountain Laurel plants too? For good measure. Because they’re so bright and leafy. (Side note: Good shot of my birthday ring here.)

Three Mountain Laurel plants too, please.

No surprise, I’ll be getting dirty again now that the plants are home. And again, three still-green Burning Bush plants shown along the left of the photo aren’t actually mine and will be delivered to Pete’s parent’s this week. Kind of makes me want to go find some Burning Bush for myself though. So leafy.

Ah, the loot. It's amazing what fits into a Jeep.

Let’s hope for good weather this weekend so that I can get these babies grounded. More to come on where they’ll be going, including rationale as to why, and probably some notes that I learned about plant breeding. Because not all plants are asexual.

(I totally need to go back to BIO101.)

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Gardening  / Helping The Economy  / Work-pads

Emily
I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. I've been a freelancer writer for 10+ years and you can find my work on popular home and garden sites, like HGTV.com. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note.

4 Comments


Lacy
October 20, 2011 at 9:18 pm
Reply

Looks like a great project that will really add to the space!



    Emily
    October 20, 2011 at 10:10 pm

    Thanks Lacy! I really… really… really needed some landscaping help.

Marylou M
October 22, 2011 at 7:39 pm
Reply

Those are some really nice looking plants…love that red twig one–I want one….I need some winter interest in my yard



    Emily
    October 22, 2011 at 8:55 pm

    Yes! I’m so excited to show a few pictures of it actually in the ground! Looks good.

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  • HI, I’m Emily

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