Covington Nursery & Garden Center

For the botanically challenged, Covington Nursery is a great little local business to patronize. We went through a major do-​it-​yourself overhaul, and I was really glad to be able to talk through my ideas with someone who actually knows what they are doing. I described the area where I would be planting (north facing side of the home, under two large oak trees, a veritable shady forest), and the ideas I had for what to put there (fatsia, gold strike, ginger, philodendron) and the clerk gave an appreciative nod and told me those would all be great in the shade. He recommended putting the philodendron in the middle and pruning it into a tree shape, when it’s large enough, to make an interesting focal point. He also gave us recommendations on how to build up the bed, making sure that we choose the right kind of soil, and build it up to a sufficient depth to make sure the new transplants would have plenty of nourishment before their roots hit the sandy loam and clay.
It’s really nice to visit a local nursery instead of always picking up your plants at Home Depot or Lowe’s. The selection is smaller, but you can usually find more healthy, unique specimens. And, when you ask for gardening advice, you actually get some, instead of the standard eye roll or blank stare you might get from a big box home improvement store clerk.