Planning a landscape? Here’s how to get the most out of our North Texas garden centers

We don’t realize how blessed we are to have the magnitude of outstanding nurseries we have here in North Texas.

Anyone who grew up in Texas decades ago ... or anyone who lives 100 miles outside the Metroplex, those are the people who know how special it is to drive down the street and find the rare and unusual plants and products the rest of us can only see in our dreams.

Oh, sure we can buy things online, but there’s something 10 times more special about seeing it, touching it, choosing it, and watching it being loaded into the back of our car for its trip home where we can love it from that day forward.

Let’s talk about how we can get the most possible enjoyment out of our visits to these Great Garden Centers of Texas. Here are my guidelines.

▪ Keep it local and keep it independent. Deal with retailers who are vested in your community — men and women you see in church and volunteering at school. They’ll be members of the Chamber, and you’ll see them voting in local elections.

These are the people who know local soils and climate and the plants that do best in them. Establish a relationship with your favorite nursery workers and greet them by name. Remind them of other things you’ve bought in their nursery, and when you have questions, let them be your guide. In fact, if they helped with your plant choices initially, so much the better.

▪ Hopefully the nursery where you shop will be a member of the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association. That’s a very strong trade group that works hard to make the Texas nursery industry better in support of the growers and gardeners of Texas. To that end, more than 40 years ago they began the Texas certified nursery professional Program. Members who want to become certified nursery professionals take a lengthy study course that’s followed by a difficult exam covering all aspects of horticulture. Those who pass are given name badges with their names, and they proudly wear those badges as they work.

Subsequently, an even more challenging program enables its candidates to become Texas Master Certified Nursery Professionals. These folks are truly the best of the best.

▪ When you go back to your nursery to seek the help of your TCNP, take ample samples and large, clear photographs printed on photo paper. Whether you’re asking for landscaping suggestions or identification of a threatening insect pest, it’s best to have more than just a tiny thumbnail photo on a phone to share with the nursery professional. Nursery employees can do some hasty sketching for you as to the plants you might consider, or many nurseries have full-time designers on staff. Much better yet, ask about hiring that person to do a plan for you.

▪ If you decide to draw your own landscape plan, draw it to scale. Draw in all the permanent features like the walks, fences, drive, mature trees, and the outline of the house. Make photocopies of your drawing so you can sketch around as you plan your ideas. That might also be the sketch you take into the nursery as you ask for the designer’s help.

▪ Call the nursery to see which day would be best for your visit. I can almost guarantee that it won’t be a Saturday or Sunday. It probably won’t be Friday, either. Set an appointment and be a little early so you can browse through the nursery stock. Become at least passingly familiar with most of the plants since they’ll be part of the discussions during your meeting.

▪ Before your appointment day arrives, develop a list of the things you need your new or renewed landscape to accomplish. You can’t redecorate a room if you don’t know how it’s going to be used, and the same thing applies outdoors. Think of your landscape as having garden rooms, each room with a purpose and each with a color scheme. Let your designer know all that, then watch the miracles unfold.

▪ If you have a few types of plants that you really want to have in your landscape, yet the nursery doesn’t currently have them in stock, don’t be afraid to ask when they’ll be available. Some of them may be staple items that are just sold out, while others may be of less common interest so that your nursery will have to order them in. You never know until you ask. With shipments arriving several times weekly, this is certainly the time to put in your special orders.

▪ Keep logs and receipts of all the purchases you make for your landscape and gardens. It can all go into one three-ring notebook with a couple of zipping inserts. Keep your landscape plan and sprinkler system design there so you can find valves and wiring when repairs and replacements become necessary. It also allows you to refer back to the information of variety names, sources, planting dates, problems that might have occurred, and other special care tips. Obviously, this same information could also be scanned and put into a special folder on your computer.

This is a great time for these landscaping upgrades. Have fun, and amaze yourself with your results.

This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 5:50 AM.