Native plant gardening is growing in popularity across the nation. Using little resources and being low maintenance, native plant landscaping is a great choice for many folks.
Up in Fountain, just north of Panama City Sam Mello has created a native plant nursery that offers variety of choices for the native gardener. More than ½ an acre of plants along a sandhill trail, the nursery invites the shopper to explore the many options available for the native plant enthusiast.
Walton Outdoors reached out to Sam with a few questions about Sandhills Native Nursery and what they are all about. Here is a Q&A:
- What inspired you to start a native nursery?
“My husband and I moved here from Colorado after Hurricane Michael and went about planting our yard with items found at Home Depot and Lowe’s. The following spring, most of our plants did not come back. We began reading about natives and how specific plants evolve within specific environments, so we gave it a go. We found much more success and lower maintenance. The more we learned the more we realized that planting a diversity of natives also helped strengthen the diversity of local wildlife. We were hooked. Since sourcing many of these plants took at least a three hour round trip, we decided to start our own nursery and bring natives to the central region of NWFL.”
- Do you have a philosophy about your native plant approach to gardening?
“We choose native plants in gardening because our local (native) wildlife appreciates, and depends upon it. Specific plants and animals evolved together within specific environments. Removing the plants that the animals specialize on thus reduces those animals in a given environment. If we truly want to increase our pollinator, and wildlife numbers, we have to consider what these animals eat and how we can truly help.”
“Many times we will find that it is not planting large numbers of the same plant, with homes in different environments looking alike; but instead planting a diversity of plants that differ across ecosystems, attracting a wide variety of all sorts of animal species. For instance, attracting birds can be as simple as attracting lizards, spiders, flies, beetles, crickets and more. Worldwide it is known that birds consume 400-500 million tons of arthropods a year.”
- What does Sandhills Native Nursery specialize in?
“We love helping people find the plants that are best suited for their specific topography. North Florida is home to a diverse array of plant communities, from sandhills and beach dunes to wetlands and mixed forests. While some plants are generalists and will thrive most anywhere, many are specialists and prefer specific soil types. While some prefer dry sandy areas such as the beach, others may be able to handle the fluctuating moisture that is typical of natural pine flatwoods. Understanding the environment the plant will be sent to helps us guide someone, or choose ourselves, the plant that will be the happiest in that location.”
- Do you do consulting?
“We offer consultations at a residential or business location. During these consultations, we are normally asked questions pertaining to a specific project in mind and recommendations we would have for that project. Many times we will also share other ideas we may have to liven up the idea, if necessary.
“Custom landscape designs to residential homes or businesses are also offered. During the initial consultation, we gather ideas about the project, ask necessary questions, and take photos and measurements. We enjoy working with the land- suggesting rain gardens and water loving plants in low lying areas while highlighting the dry spots with plants that enjoy periods of drought.”
- Do you offer classes?
“We have just begun offering classes, although they are limited at the moment. We had our first class the week of June 20, 2022 in celebration of National Pollinator Week. This class was all about pollinators, the ones we know and the ones we don’t- bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, flies, and beetles.”
“Our next class will be coming up the first weekend of Fall and will be about the importance of bats in the environment and how you can help provide them shelter. We will be announcing more about this class soon on our Facebook and website under our new classes/events tab.”
- How large is the nursery?
“While the nursery itself may only be about 1/2 acre, it is situated on roughly 2-3 acres of space that we have allocated for use for the nursery. We were lucky to find a piece of property that was uncleared but walkable, and have begun making trails through the areas surrounding the nursery. Our vision is to begin having these trails open to the public by spring of 2024. These trails will be a good place to walk and see native plants in their natural habitat, how large they can get, and the growing conditions they prefer. We will also be sprinkling in seating and picnic areas along the trail so people can pack a lunch and enjoy themselves before or after a class or to just sit back and listen to the birds sing for an afternoon of relaxation.”
- Are you open year-round?
“We are open year-round in some capacity. This year being our first year open at our retail location, we decided to close for the summer and head out to the farmers market in downtown Panama City. We will most likely be ending our market visits soon as the nursery opens back up again on September 22. Even when our nursery location is not open, we can still be reached via email or phone and plants can still be bought off of our website (www.sandhillsnativenursery.com) with a scheduled pickup/delivery date.”
Sandhills Native Nursery
Tel: 850-252-0120
Address: 19326 Merritt Rd., Fountain, FL.
Website: sandhillsnativenursery.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sandhillsnativenursery