Ambleside Gardens & Nursery

This place is the real deal. A truly unique nursery run by extremely knowledgable, helpful and patient staff. The owner, Dave, really knows his stuff. And he’s generous both with his extensive knowledge, and with his time. There was no push to buy things. (And truly, there doesn’t have to be. These one-​of-​kind trees and plants sell themselves.) The whole nursery and the owner have a very unique personality. One that I felt quite lucky to find.

Definitely a FIVE stars place.
We have been going to many nurseries in northern NJ to shop Japanese maples. This beautiful place has so many beautiful trees nicely placed. When you go through this nursery you feel you go through a garden that reminds me the Duke Garden before they were torn down. This place is pretty, even compared to the Long wood garden.
We bought a Montgomery dwarf spruce to complement my red JMs. The owner was very nice to explain how to plant this tree. He treats his tree as his baby.
As another reviewer previously said, it’s worthwhile to come here, even from Brooklyn.
Giving a beautiful JM as a gift is a wonderful idea too.
I will bring my friends to this place, as I did to an orchid store, Taida at nearby Bridgewater. They all are run by the generations of family, knowing their stuff.

Japanese maples are my thing, and this is the only place around offering such a wide selection of rare cultivars (well over a 100 types). They had many other types of rare/​unusual species of flowers, plants, and trees as well.
I travel over an hour to get there from north jersey, and I would triple that drive without blinking an eye. If you like japanese maples, good luck leaving without 1, or 2. All plants in excellent condition and obviously well cared for.
Met Dave, the owner, is a great guy He took the time to help me extensively, and every other customer, and super friendly. This alone is a rare find. The rest of his staff was very helpful as well. All nice people.
I will be returning soon, as one could spend an entire day wandering the gardens. And if you think you saw everything, walk it 4 more times.
Very highly recommended.

The owner Dave spent several hours on the phone with us Brooklynites picking out a tree for our folks in Manville, NJ for a special B-​day present. Upon arriving, we were blown away how rustic and beautiful (upstate NY-​ish) the nursery is. Dave (yes, with ponytail and quite a ‘stache…being a bearded one myself, I was impressed) could not have been nicer and spent over an hour with us, selecting a tree and making all four of us feel at home. Even if you are not in the market, a stroll on the grounds is worth it.
And when we finally get our act together and have space for our own Japanese Maple (he must have the most exotic blend and selection in the tri-​state area), we’ll be heading back to NJ. to pick one out.

Princeton is pretty bucolic but this place is cuckoo bananas amazing. There are mazes of gorgeous trees and shrubs to get lost in, featuring a multitude of exotic species. What would you prefer? Variegated leaves? Coral bark? Willows?
The pink flowering dogwood is my favorite tree there. My sister agreed to buy something pink in homage of it.
We benefited from the expert counsel of the proprietor, who looks the part in plaid, glasses, and a long ponytail. The hardest part was deciding which of the cornucopia of options to take home. The lead candidates are the gardenia and lilac trees. I bet you didn’t even know there was such a thing as a lilac tree.

The nicest thing about Ambleside is the arrangement of plants and shrubs which almost seems as if you were walking thru a garden. Nice selection of plants but just a little pricey. Very good service. Look for the end of season sale.