Cover Story

Member Highlight on The Gardener Nursery

It all started with a few clippings from the English boxwoods of Keith Stanley’s uncle. Now, over four decades later, Keith’s plant propagation hobby has blossomed into a thriving retail and wholesale nursery that grows plants by the tens of thousands, run by his son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. With its roots still firmly planted in family and community, The Gardener Nursery is continuing to grow as it transitions to third generation leadership and brings time-tested, high-quality plant material to landscapers and garden centers throughout Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic, all while maintaining the same feel of a small family business.

Keith began his journey in propagation with no intention of creating a business. He enjoyed the growing process and would gift his homegrown boxwoods and azaleas to family members when they had need or reached important milestones, like moving into a new house. But, over the years, as his backyard plant stock grew, it became clear to Keith and his son, Andy (who at age 14 already had aspirations of joining the family business as an adult), that launching a business was the natural next step. And in 1979, Keith, with the help and support of his wife Janet, founded The Gardener Nursery.

Andy with the first greenhouse

The Gardener Nursery began its operation with a few hundred small boxwoods and a selection of azaleas so small that they could all be stuffed in the Stanley’s two-car garage when Goochland County experienced a hard freeze in the winter of ‘79. Already well known around town for his green thumb, Keith immediately began landscape projects upon officially opening the business. This new window into plant success and hardiness would later allow him to become a better buyer and grower as he learned firsthand which plants would actually survive and thrive in Central Virginia’s climate and soil.

Keith and young Cameron

During the first decade of the nursery’s operations, the business experienced slow and gradual growth. Keith continued to expand his propagation program and added greenhouses to his property as necessary. Then, in the fall of 1987, after graduating from Emory & Henry College with a business degree and having worked for Laird’s Nurseries for several summers, Andy joined the company full-time. Andy took over the landscape design, installation and maintenance work, and Keith returned to his roots as the nursery manager.

Over the next 35 years, Andy dedicated himself to learning and cultivating timeless and sustainable landscape designs. His pursuit led to the creation of a loyal customer base both for the company’s landscaping division and the nursery, as fellow landscapers, gardeners and retail customers alike learned that they could rely on him to provide the best plant recommendations from his years of experience. Today, many customers still visit the nursery to seek Andy’s advice and best practices for landscape installations.

In the early 2000s, Andy’s wife, Shelly, joined The Gardener Nursery, taking over all office operations and modernizing the company’s organizational and scheduling practices. The landscaping business continued to expand with her help, leading to the hiring of brothers Marvin and Maynor as landscape technicians. As the company became a larger part of Shelly and Andy’s lives, their children, Cameron and Madison, began to spend more time at the nursery, helping with sales and learning about plants and propagation. Cameron quickly began to see his own future in the family business and went away to college to learn everything he would need to become a successful nurseryman. In 2019, after graduating from Bridgewater College with a degree in business, Cameron also joined The Gardener Nursery fulltime, taking over all nursery operations.

Throughout the last three years, the nursery has seen explosive growth under the direction of Cameron, whose enthusiasm for plants and exceptional customer service continues to bring in new customers. Cameron has expanded both the variety and size of plant material carried at the nursery and container shrub and tree growing operations. In addition, he has started growing boxwoods, shade trees and screening trees at a separate farm in Montpelier, Va. In the coming years, Cameron hopes to increase field grown operations, expand to other farms and start another container nursery. With a high standard for quality landscape plants, he hopes The Gardener Nursery will become a more prominent supplier to landscapers and garden centers all over the East Coast.

Most recently, Keith and Janet’s daughter (and Andy’s sister), Cindy, has joined the company as a customer service specialist, and their granddaughter (Andy and Shelly’s daughter), Madison, has come on board as the head of all communications and public relations. The family has been excited to add on additional team members to meet the increasing need, including Emiley (Assistant Nursery Manager), Grace (Nursery Associate) and Paul (Delivery Driver).

Today, The Gardener Nursery is the largest it has ever been. While continuing to expand, it has remained grounded in the very fundamentals on which it was founded. From team dynamics to customer relationships and the greater community at large, The Gardener Nursery persists in treating everyone like family. Customers get the same intentional and personable treatment of a small family-owned business, with the offerings of a larger company, including substantial plant material selections and quick and reliable delivery across the state of Virginia and into the mid-Atlantic. Cameron and his team thoughtfully cultivate strong relationships with growers throughout the Southeastern United States and West Coast, sourcing hard to find plants.

This, coupled with The Gardener Nursery’s growing production operation, allows Cameron’s team to buffer re-wholesaled stock with produced plant material, adding value and cutting costs on the front-end so savings can be passed along to the nursery’s clients. Increasingly, landscapers and garden center buyers know they can count on The Gardener Nursery to provide them with the healthiest plant stock available in a timely manner and at the best price. Customers know Cameron’s team will do everything they can to help them complete a project, even custom ordering plants the nursery does not currently have on hand. And as ever, they will do so with the warmth of a neighbor or a friend.

Just as Keith began his nurseryman journey so many years ago by gifting his plants to family and friends, The Gardener Nursery also continues this spirit of giving by donating plants to Habitat for Humanity of Goochland County and also to local schools. The Gardener Nursery is also proud to support the local nonprofit Goochland Cares, which provides many important resources to local individuals and families in need. As the company continues to grow, The Gardener Nursery team looks forward to finding new ways to give back and support other families and individuals in the community.

Cameron, Andy and Keith

Ready to experience The Gardener Nursery family difference? Give us a call at 804-360-2097 or email Cameron directly at cameron@gardenernursery.com. We look forward to talking, getting to know you and helping your business grow! •