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| Rick's Custom Nursery | profile | all galleries >> home >> open_house | tree view | thumbnails | slideshow |
We also exhibit at numerous Botanical Garden Fairs throughout Virginia in the spring and fall. Our schedule is posted on our
website and provides additional information and directions to these events: Schedule of events
We've changed the format of our Open House Gallery and hope you'll find it easier to follow along. If you prefer, you can
click the individual images to view them full size.
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June, 2006 - After many requests to visit the nursery to purchase plants, we finally hosted our 1st Open House and Plant Sale and opened the gardens for visitors to see! The weather was beautiful and we were delighted with the comments from those who visited. Most of those who attended were local residents but there were a few who had traveled quite a distance to visit. This gentleman from North Carolina was one of the first to arrive!
Early morning coffee and an enjoyable visit with two lovely ladies from the Richmond area who have purchased our plants at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens for years!
We have no employees and we were extremely pleased when several friends offered their assistance for the Open House. Ann and Judy were on hand to help these customers with their selection of shrubs.
The morning hours were hectic as customers lined up with their purchases, "Who's next?"
Visitors from Richmond and Roanoke enjoyed the pleasant morning and explored the gardens.
On the second day of our Open House, a customer from Alexandria made her final selections.
We want to thank everyone who attended and made our 1st Open House and Plant Sale a success! We also want to thank our wonderful friends, Ann, George, Judy and Leeanne, for their help in hosting this event and a special thanks to George, who we fondly refer to as our "parking czar" :) He was able take a break from his parking duties and did such a great job taking all the photos that he's been designated as the "official photographer" for our Open Houses! We had so much fun we're already making plans for next year!
A year has passed and a foggy morning greeted our first visitor on Saturday for our 2nd Open House in 2007.
The fog has lifted and customers begin making their selections - decisions, decisions!
It was a beautiful morning for touring the gardens! After making their purchases, Debbie was able to answer questions from these visitors about specific plants in the gardens.
Time to check out and for one lucky visitor from Staunton - an opportunity to sit and relax!
Another opportunity for Debbie to identify a plant in the gardens for visitors.
A return trip from our favorite visitors from Richmond and Roanoke. They're off to tour the gardens and see what changes we've made since last year!
Every year the blooming cycle of the plants in the gardens is different and there's always something you might have missed last year!
Even though it was a little more humid later in the day, this couple didn't miss their opportunity to take a leisurely stroll through the gardens.
We encourage everyone to stroll through the gardens and this visitor enjoyed a relaxing break in the shade by the pond.
A surprise visit from friends from Alexandria - a fantastic end to a great day!
Sunday, a wet and dreary morning but the rain didn't stop this visitor from strolling through the gardens!
The rain continued, creating problems for visitors leaving through the field and we were finally forced to close the gate. There's always next year!
Our 3rd Annual Open House in June, 2008 - clear skies and pleasant temperatures welcomed our first visitors!
We always make an effort to have a large selection of the plants we offer at our Open Houses. However, we're also more than happy to make a quick trip to the nursery for special requests if the plant you're looking for isn't here!
Customers always appreciate the tremendous variety of perennials, trees and shrubs we have available. This year we included plants at drastically reduced prices in our 'bargain bin' which was a huge hit with our customers!
Every year we exhibit at Botanical Garden Fairs throughout Virginia beginning in April and it's always a mad dash to get the gardens ready! This year we attempted to provide a 'personal tour' with before and after photos so visitors could see the progression of the gardens over the past few years.
The before and after photos are posted in different areas of the gardens.
We try our best to be available to answer any questions you may have about specific plants in the gardens.
Another year and another successful weekend - thank you! We're going to be planting all summer, concentrating on some areas that needed improvement and developing Rick's new woodland garden. Be sure to visit us in 2009 to see all our changes!
The cool rainy weather this spring has been ideal for the gardens and the Weigela border is in full bloom for visitors!
We had early arrivals this year and we're still scrambling to get all our signs up!
Even though we have no photos, after many requests we decided to host our 1st Annual Fall Open House last September. All plants, regardless of their size, were priced at $5.00 and the sale was such a huge success we decided to offer the same prices again this spring!
Not to worry, we're always lacking a few signs and it isn't long before we're already off and running to help carry purchases for customers!
It was a beautiful morning and shoppers arrived early for the best selections!
A favorite customer from Harrisonburg arrived early and was ready to shop!
It didn't take long before she had designated a spot to organize all her purchases!
She had to have her mother stand guard over her goodies because customers were trying to buy from what she had collected!
It wasn't long before others were making collections and standing guard over them!
Only a few hours into the morning and Rick is already making trips back to the nursery to replenish sold out items!
Even with Rick's efforts to replenish stock, shoppers are grabbing plants as fast as they can and we're busy helping carry them to their cars!
There's still plenty to choose from but of course, the early bird gets the worm!
We made one shopper's day :) He's a long standing customer from the State Arboretum and on his first visit to our Open House we finally had the Arisaema that he had been waiting two years for!
Arriving at the gardens, a decision needs to be made - do we stroll through the gardens or shop for plants first?
The crowds are thinning out by noon and most shoppers are finally taking the opportunity to tour the gardens.
George's timing was perfect when he caught this shot of a young visitor who was fascinated by the bird bath!
It takes some time to view the gardens but a trip around to the front of the house shows the rock border we're creating.
We were pleased to finally have our disappearing fountain set up by the front door!
It was a long day for everyone but especially Phoebe, our official greeter!
Phoebe quickly recovered though and was ready first thing Sunday morning to greet her new best friends, our neighbor and Homer!
Sunday is always a slower pace for all of us but the gardens are still alive with visitors.
With the slower pace on Sunday, we were delighted to give a tour to these visitors from New Jersey who were staying in the area over the weekend.
Another successful Open House comes to a close and we'd like to thank everyone for coming! We'll be hosting our 2nd Annual Fall Open House in September and hope you'll be able to attend!
RAIN, RAIN, RAIN! It's the weekend of our 2nd Annual Fall Open House and we had to cover the field with plastic! The Fall Open House is only one day but we quickly announced that we would be open on Sunday as well because we couldn't allow anyone to drive through the field. Visitors were welcome if they chose to walk in on Saturday and we were pleasantly surprised by the brave souls who weren't discouraged by the weather! Our apologies to anyone who was confused with our change of plans and our thanks to everyone who made the trip.
We're making plans for our 5th Annual Open House in 2010 and hope to see you here!
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