Villager Nursery

Specialties

Villager Nursery has a vast wealth of knowledge and experience about plants, supplies and much more. We are a retail nursery, landscape and restoration company serving Truckee and the Northern Sierras. As avid botanists, naturalists and gardeners with degrees in the biological sciences, we specialize in education, natives, restoration, extreme cold-​hardy plants, unique and interesting color, arts and gifts.

We are a mountain nursery, so we incorporate a large portion of native plants into our inventory and landscapes. We pride ourselves on having a knowledgeable staff, and our passion for the material is expressed in the missionary zeal with which we constantly share information. Our goal is to remain the main source for reliable gardening, and the source of the widest variety of native plants.

History

Established in 1975.

The Villager Nursery began operation in 1975, when Jeanette Harper purchased the existing Villager Florist that had been operating in the same location since the 1940s. In 1984, Eric Larusson joined the staff after graduating agriculture /​horticulture from California State University Chico and with molecular biology /​botany from Humboldt State, and he began expanding the nursery in earnest. Rob Van Dyke joined the management staff in 1987 while teaching and pursuing graduate studies in plant physiology and biology at CSU, Chico. In 1999, Villager Nursery moved half of a mile east to the old home of Azad McIver and the McIver Dairy. We have since improved this historic property and have planted extensive demonstration gardens including many plants in the I-​80 Central Truckee off-​ramp right of way that we are charged with maintaining.

Meet the Business Owner

Eric L.

Business Owner

Eric L. has been landscaping, botanizing and educating with the Villager Nursery since 1984. While gardening knowledge is largely earned through experience, Eric does have bachelor’s degrees in molecular biology/​botany and in agriculture/​horticulture. He grew-​up on the western slope of the Sierras, and spent many summers in the Rockies. He’s worked in vineyards, orchards, plantations, gardens, estates, production greenhouses, wholesale and retail nurseries and florists (and ski shops and ski schools). He is an ISA certified Arborist, and attends continuing education classes each year. He thrives on experimentation and learning vicariously through thousands of clients each year who generously share their successes and failures. Eric and co-​owner Robert V.D. are proud of the great reputation they have earned over the years, and look forward to helping clients for many more to come.

Villager Nursery also recommends

EVERY BLOOMIN THING

3

reviews

Nurseries & Gardening

Eric L. says,

«Patient and knowledgable staff, an incredible selection of plant materials color to trees for varied microclimates. Shop is clean and amazing.»