Garden Centers Gear Up for Spring

Deer Park-area gardening businesses are gearing up for the growing season as plants sprout, shipments arrive, and shop signs switch to “open.”

“We’re receiving thousands of new plants during the month of April and will continue to receive new plants all the way into July and early August,” said Scott Metz, owner and operator of Scott’s Family Tree Nursery, at 27106 N. North Road. 

Getting the nursery ready for this upcoming season involved tidying up after strong winds, removing leaves off the ground, treating weeds, and cleaning up overwintered plants, he said. 

Metz said his favorite products are his trees, his favorite of which is the oak. 

“I really like a strong oak tree as a nice feature piece in the landscape for longevity. You picture this old oak tree, standing in a field by itself, but they also work well in the landscape. They’re kind of a majestic tree,” said Metz. 

In addition to ornamental trees, Scott’s Family Tree Nursery sells herbaceous perennials, fruit trees, shrubs, grasses, fruits and berries plants, soils, bark, and gravel, he said. 

“Starting right now, our bareroot fruit trees are in stock. They can be purchased for the first two weeks that they’ve arrived. Then, we will pot them in-store to keep the trees safe throughout the growing season, so they can be purchased at a later time and planted,” said Metz. 

Metz said he tries to time his plants’ arrival when the outdoor air is safe for them to stay out without a greenhouse.

“It’s tricky up here in Deer Park because we had some cold temperatures last week,” he said. 

The tree nursery is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It opened for regular seasonal business in the beginning of March. It also does business by appointment during winter months, said Metz. 

Some of the most common questions he said he receives are related to the planting season.

“People are wondering…’When should I plant, how long can I plant, how far into the season can I plant?’ We’ve got all those variables that we can answer in person,” Mertz said. 

If someone is just getting started in gardening, Metz recommended that they “get a game plan together.” He said gardeners need to find out where different underground lines are, so that they don’t disrupt power lines, water lines, and other important underground infrastructure. 

“Have a plan of action of where you can and can't put product and knowing which product fits best where,” he said. 

Metz invited anyone to come down and visit their nursery.

“This is going into my 25^th year in the business, so I’ve been there, done that. I’ve worked at two Spokane nurseries prior to my 7-plus years ownership on my own. [I’m] very knowledgeable, with a lot of background knowledge from growers that have been growing plants in Oregon for up to 100 years,” he said.

While Scott’s Family Tree Nursery opened last month, some places aren’t opening until later.

“People like to ask us when we’re opening. They’re anxious to come,” said Barbara Weaver, co-owner of Rosewood Lane Greenhouse, at 4626 Gibson-Dahl Road. 

The business opens on April 20, said Weaver.

“We are busy setting up. Most of our plants have come in; they get shipped in,” said Weaver. “We’re still getting everything set up and just trying to get ready to be open.”

Rosewood Lane is known for their hanging baskets, said Weaver. 

The baskets, which dangle from the greenhouse ceilings in rows, offer a variety of flowers such as petunia and petunia mixes, fuschia, begonia, geranium, and woven cone baskets with a mixture of different plants, she said.

Along with those, Rosewood Lane offers bedding annuals, vegetable starts, herbs, and some perennials, said Weaver. 

The business will be open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s family-run and operated, said Weaver, with their children “involved in the whole process.” 

“We live out in the country,” said Weaver. “Its a beautiful valley, here in Williams Valley. I think people, sometimes, enjoy the peace. It’s kind of an experience.”

Meanwhile, Garden Springs Retail opened its Deer Park and Newport retail centers this past week, said Kief Fitzpatrick, co-owner and manager. 

“We’ve been sewing a lot of seeds, we’ve been planting…we’re doing a lot of load pulling right now to get our garden centers stocked up and ready for sales,” said Fitzpatrick. 

To start the season, Fitzpatrick said Garden Springs is offering some perennials, shade trees, fruit trees, berry starts including raspberries and blueberries, and a focus on plants that can tolerate the cold better such as broccoli, cabbage, onions and potato sets, pansies, and petunias. 

“As it warms up, we’ll be moving more into our warmer season [items],” said Fitzpatrick. 

Fitzpatrick said common questions he receives this time of year involves people wanting to plant certain plants too early. Plants like peppers, tomatoes, and impatiens, and other warm-season crops aren’t ready to be planted.

“Sometimes I will bring that stuff out at special request, but we make sure we let people know that they need to have a green house or protect it at night,” he said. 

Although it’s still too cold for warm weather plants, Fitzpatrick predicted that it’ll be an early season. 

“I think the weather is going to break fast and hard,” he said. People still need to be careful though, of a late season frost after several weeks of nice weather. 

“We might still get that sneaker frost in the last week of May or first week of June,” he said. 

In such a situation, Fitzpatrick recommended covering plants at night. 

“It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. It can be plastic, it can be sheets, it can be blankets. You can buy the specific freeze cloth, and it’s nice because it breathes, but really, anything you cover it with is going to protect from the frost,” he said. 

Located at 31411 N. Staghorn Road, Garden Springs Retail’s Deer Park center is open seven days a week.