Monday, October 15, 2012

Milberger's Nursery

October is "Support Your Independent Nursery" month designated by Pam Penick at her Austin blog Digging.  I'm joining in by touring San Antonio nurseries and posting some of my favorites each Monday.  Today is Milberger's Nursery on North Loop 1604 at Bulverde Road in San Antonio.


Milberger's is the first nursery I visited after moving to San Antonio back in 1995 and realizing that I needed some serious gardening advice.  The staff patiently explained basic issues of gardening in San Antonio and I still fondly remember those first tentative ventures into the world of gardening among the rocks, oaks, and deer.

Milberger's is in a beautiful tree-shaded location with a huge selection of plants and gardening items.  During October the spooky decorations, fall displays, maze and activities for children are a big draw.

They always have a large selection of seasonal plants near the entrance



         
Real pumpkins don't last long in our 85F+ temperatures so there are plenty of metal and ceramic options



The Halloween maze has plenty of old west style






This animated scene compete with creepy audio was quite mesmerizing for these young visitors.



There are decorations throughout the nursery such as this check-out station near the front.


My favorite plants on display in the nursery are the sculpted olive trees.  You can even see a bit of Halloween in them -- or maybe even Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings?


This sculptured olive tree is in full costume


Over in the tropical house, these bromeliads are gorgeous








Milberger's always has a good selection of 4" herbs, perennials, and annuals.  On this visit I picked up several winter herbs for my garden.


 Pond plants are a large display here as well.




In addition to trees, shrubs, and ornamental grasses, they have a selection of cacti and succulents



Planters of all types



Even outside their fence along the Loop 1604 access road turf grass selections are displayed garden style.

 
 


 
This one has my name on it.  (Zorro is "fox" in spanish.)


They always have a good stock of  benches, statues, and garden art available.




A large gift and garden supply shop is inside where several versions of Señor Zorro are on display.


Milberger's is a full-service nursery including landscape design, installation, and maintenance  services.  I've always liked how the offices blend right in with the nursery.




There's a Farmer's Market weekend mornings in the large back parking lot.


Milberger's sponsors the detailed and helpful "Plant Answers" guide to gardening in San Antonio.  They also sponsor the KLUP 930 radio show "Gardening in South Texas" on Saturdays from noon to 2 PM.

For more Central Texas independent nursery tours and a giveaway from Digging, click here.

25 comments:

  1. Might have to drive to San Antonio to check this place out. I like the look of the Euphorbia in the cacti section. Thanks for the info!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a good one, they have a large selection of cacti there.

      Delete
  2. Yet another one for my list.
    Thanks....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is convenient for a stop if you are bringing visitors down to see the tourist sites.

      Delete
  3. Looks like a really nice place to purchase plants. Everything is set up so nicely....and the Halloween decs are great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They do have a nice layout and I was impressed with their spooky maze. We don't have as many fall festivals here as they do in colder climates so it's fun to find something similar.

      Delete
  4. You did a wonderful job featuring this garden center. Since I usually just head to the section with the annuals, I forgot how much more this nursery has to offer. Thanks for the tour!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Steph, I know how it is when you are so familiar with a place so I took a fresh look as well.

      Delete
  5. Looks like a great place! So big, and full of fun things. I love that they have the farmer's market there. And it's wonderful that they go to such trouble for Halloween. I bet the children love it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is fun, they have children's gardening classes throughout the year.

      Delete
  6. This looks like a great place! There's a garden center just a few miles from my house that I go to a lot. I'm sure I'd spend less money if it were farther away. :o) I prefer the local places over the bog box stores any day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Touring all our independent nurseries is a real bonus for me in October. I enjoy them all.

      Delete
  7. I like everything except the big turf grass sign at the entry. ;-) Looks like a fun place for an autumn visit with kiddos too. Thanks for showing off one of San Antonio's independent nurseries.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are one of the few retail resources for turfgrass here in town so I think more and more homeowners are taking the "Lawn-Gone" route.

      Delete
  8. Amazing place! I would hope some of the nursery owners up here, north of you, would be inspired by this way of marketing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They all have great marketing here with seminars, radio shows, and events through the fall and spring.

      Delete
  9. Great post!!! I love all the spookiness!!!! That is neat they do the farmers market there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They have a lot of nice events here. I think it's a good combination and saves us having to go into town for the farmer's market there.

      Delete
  10. Definitely one of my favorites when I lived there. Every been to casa verde greenhouse?. Mostly wholesale but I think they sell retail sometimes. Both used to be on my customer base. I have a large painted texas star I bought there a little over a year ago. Don't have a reason to go to satx with my son moving to OKC. Sure will miss that trip. I miss the culture there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a nice one, we have a number of good places here. I've heard of several wholesalers that will sell retail if you show up but so far I haven't needed to go that route.

      That's nice to hear that you miss this, it's a unique place. I heard today that we have 25 million tourists a year visiting.

      Delete
  11. What a fun place. I never thought about that pumpkins would be short lived in your climate. I think the straw hut/maze is a fun experience for kids.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A couple of hot days and they collapse from the heat especially if they are in the sun. The same with holiday greenery which is often brown when it arrives.

      Delete
  12. Another great nursery. Eighty five degrees? Hmmm. I'm only a little jealous!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was 92 degrees today and we are not complaining.

      Delete
  13. I love how the trend of nurseries incorporating holiday activities into their businesses. It seems like a smart way to keep people coming to the stores even as planting season slows.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by. To comment simply open the Name/URL option, put in your name or initials and skip the URL.