Business is blooming again at Taylor Garden Center. A perennial favorite of local gardeners since 2018, the nursery reopens their doors on Friday, Feb. 25. The reopening will showcase a larger variety of flowers, fruit trees, vegetables and herbs plus the addition of a houseplant section and potted succulents.
The new focus stems partly from post-Covid cultural changes. Life was uprooted during the pandemic. Social activities, vacations and hobbies fell by the wayside. People had time to spare. Couple that with rising food insecurity and the need to take control in an ever more tumultuous world, and the gardening trend grew like a weed.
“Gardening is so popular now, my friends who used to post pictures of restaurant meals on Instagram are now posting pictures of the plants they’re growing instead,” said new manager BJ Dach. “I see more first-time gardeners interested in growing their own food, more new homeowners wanting to add plants to their landscape, and apartment dwellers who are now interested in bringing the outside indoors.”
“Home is a safe space, our comfort zone, and plants bring peace at a time of turmoil and unknowing,” adds new Assistant Manager Crystal Burkett. “That’s human nature. So come in and tell us your vision, and we can help you create it with the right variety and selection of plants.”
Choosing native and well-adapted perennials and trees is key to growing successfully, according to Dach and Burkett. Selecting varieties that thrive in the Central Texas climate and Blackland Prairie soil conditions makes Taylor Garden Center unique. The nursery only sells plants and trees that are conditioned to succeed in this area, most of which are from Texas farms.
The commitment to providing locally-grown products originates with founder and owner Greg Ginn. Ginn also owns Known Source Farms, a producer of Taylormade fertilizer that uses natural and humanelysourced ingredients mainly from Texas.
“When I read the ingredients in the fertilizers, I was using at home I realized that some were from places like Thailand and others were from animals treated with hormones, and I didn’t want to be a part of that. So, I started my own company,” Ginn said.
Known Source Farms fertilizer contains no cow manure or chicken manure. It uses high quality bat guano, cricket frasses (manure) and plant-based ingredients. Taylor Garden Center was founded as a complement to the fertilizer company and uses Known Source Farms fertilizer in all of their potted plants.
“Fertilizers that use natural and organic ingredients like Known Source release their nutrients slowly as the plant needs them, so you don’t have to fertilize as often as with synthetic fertilizers that release nutrients too fast and can burn the plants,” said Dach.
High quality natural solutions are a cornerstone of the Taylor Garden Center philosophy, and Dach believes using organic methods is safer and more affordable.
“For example, you can spend a lot of money buying cancercausing chemical weed killer or you can mix up some orange oil and vinegar and do the same job without endangering your health and the safety of our water table,” Dach said. “We’ll teach you how.”
TAYLOR GARDEN CENTER
1902 W. Second Street in Taylor
Starting Friday, Feb. 25, hours will be Monday-Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information call 512-309- 4907 or visit facebook.com/taylorgardencenter.
Known Source Farms fertilizer is available at Taylor Garden Center and on Amazon.com.
