Unique Birmingham Nurseries and Garden Centers

Birmingham AL is located in a hilly section of middle Alabama. It's beautiful and has a temperate climate, not unlike that of Atlanta. It's not really in a transitional zone like Memphis, TN, so gardeners have a range of plants that they know will do well in their area. I guess one would say that it's located in the lower half of the Midsouth where there's seldom snow and winters are generally pretty mild, with only an occasional ice storm. Birmingham is located only about 200 miles north of the Gulf Coast on the panhandle of Florida. There is a wealth of avid gardeners in the Birminghan area who love plants, water gardens, horticulture in general, and fortunately this area has one of the richest areas of gardening resoursources in the country.

http://www.classicgardens.com/

Classic Gardens has been the #1 Fertilome Dealer in the nation for 11 years. That tells you that they are a big concern, and judging from their web site, the services and nursery products they offer are astounding. I've rarely seen this many links for different areas of product or educational material that's free in my life. One of their links, "Crepe Murder" refers to a term we Memphians are well acquainted with. It refers to the lopping off of the entire top of a crepe myrtle in chain saw fashion, destroying the skeletal beauty of a plant that is exquisite when pruned properly. They have a link to their tomato program which is, unfortunately, only available to people who visit the nursery in person. They have people mailing them from all over the country to get it, but sorry--no go. Evidently it's a private method of growing prize tomatoes that people die for in the South. Their services include landscaping, lawn care and forest grinding, whatever that is. Their nursery handles annuals, vines, perennials, trees, grasses, groundcovers and treatments. My word! They even have a link for planting supplies for Hunters! Sorry to sound so enthusiastic here, but I've never seen a place that has so many resources, and I would only say that I wish I were a little further south and east so I could visit them in person! "Classic Gardens is located in the North East section of Birmingham known as Centerpoint. The location and mailing address are the same or 1855 Carson Road, Birmingham, Al. 35215". Call in is at (205) 854-4005. I copied this from their site because people can listen with XM or Sirius radio access: Classic Gardens has a live call-in radio program. It airs Saturday mornings from 7:00 to 9:00 AM on WDJC 93.7 FM, and on WYDE 101.1 FM

Saturdays 6:00 to 8:00am and from 2:00 to 4:00pm.

Mike Pender answers questions from callers and discusses the important gardening issues of the season.

http://www.colliersnursery.com/

I guess after the bit about Classic Gardens, I couldn't do justice to the other centers and nurseries I found. But Colliers Nursery has its own lovely appeal. Comparing it to the others I'm looking at would be insane. This is a close-knit family operation that should atract locals like a magnet. Colliers Garden Center is located in the very center of an old commercial area and is like a little oasis amidst the somewhat barren surrounding of a criss-croos of concrete and smo It takes class and hutspa to locate here. They have been in business since 1996 and they price themselves on the quality of their plants and the dedication of their employees. Their nursery is on 2 acres with a greenhouse and their hook is that they are full service yet are small enough to give great service and attention to bringing the best quality of plants to customers. They have shrubs, groundcovers, vines, even large growing trees and tropicals and unusual plants in the greenhouse. This web site is not extensive by any means, but I'd visit it just to see the plants and adjunct gardening enhancements they have there.

2904 Old Rocky Ridge Rd.
Birmingham, AL 35243
Phone: (205) 822-3133

Last on my list is Pike's Nursery, located at 10 Greenhill Parkway, Birmingham,AL 35242. Begun in 1958 by William Pike, "Today Pike Family Nurseries is a business with more than 700 employees. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Pike is the nation's largest family-owned and operated retail nursery". That tells you a lot. These people are serious about gardening and about running quality nurseries or they probably would have never grown to where they are today. Their web site is just amazing. They've divided their links into the garden center, specialty gardening and a garden almanac. The almanac is just a wealth of information about what to do and when. In another area they have placed a 1-2-3-step guide to building and maintaining the perfect garden. Their garden center has perennials, annuals, shrubs, trees, tools, chemicals and soil amendments, and outdoor accessories. It's a complete center with very creative marketing that lets people know these centers are serious about helping gardeners have fun, learn and purchase good plants from them--the epitome of an enthusiastic and well-run organization. There are evidently four locations in the Birmingham area, so this is the number I got for Greenhill Parkway: (205) 981-PIKE (7453)