mikes backyard nursery
Mike’s Backyard Nursery sits on a long, narrow, 5-acre property located in Perry, Ohio. There, customers can find a variety of flowering shrubs available, all in 2-quart pots, and all for sale for $5.97 each.
Owner Mike McGroarty, a lifelong resident of Perry, says the town has a lot of plant nurseries, including 100 wholesale growers within a 10-mile radius of his house.
That doesn’t discourage McGroarty, because he knows that while there are a lot of nurseries in his area, no one else is doing what he is doing.
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McGroarty has learned about plants — and marketing them to his audience — through decades of experience. He has never hesitated to pass along his knowledge to other growers looking to start their own backyard operations, and has created an entire program to educate aspiring growers.
McGroarty’s operation serves as the laboratory for what he teaches in his education program, The Backyard Grower’s University (backyardgrowers.com). He intentionally keeps the nursery at a manageable size, and does not hire much outside help.
The property consists of a house and an outbuilding, behind which there are rows of plants for sale. There’s also some parking space for customers and an area for McGroarty’s two miniature donkeys, Finnegan and Fergus. Next to the outbuilding, there are wood-framed beds filled with rooted cuttings.
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McGroarty mostly grows flowering shrubs, but he plans to start doing more perennials, he says. He currently has some Lavender Twist weeping redbud trees for sale, but he says it is not likely that he will continue selling trees after the current ones are gone.
McGroarty isn’t afraid to try new things, but he also knows when to go back to what works best. He tried growing in a heated greenhouse once, but realized that he preferred his original growing methods.
He also wants to continue to sell all of his plants for $5.97 each, because his own customers love it. He sells most of his plants during plant sales, which take place several times a year. McGroarty says customers are more likely to purchase larger quantities of plants during these sales, particularly when there is one price used across the board.
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