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| Sneak peak of our new nursery site at the peak of flooding |
| “We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.” Martin Luther King, Jr. On Tuesday April 2, we are opening for our last spring at our current Delaware location on SR37W. Soon we will unpack plants nestled in their winter beds and place them artfully around the lush grounds that Scioto Gardens has called home for the last 24 years. While planning for a beautiful and busy spring at the original nursery site, we are still knee deep in mud and construction at our future location on Curve Rd, set to open July 27, 2024. We are thrilled that Scioto Gardens needs a larger site to meet the growing demand for native plants, yet it seems surreal that we will turn a muddy farm field into a nursery with restored natural habitats for all to enjoy. Developing our new site has not been without trials and has released a flood of emotions, and just a regular old flood. While digging our pond, a couple of subsurface clay pipes from the 1950s were crushed. Before they could be re-routed around the pond, we experienced a deluge of rain across the 50 acres of farmland that drains to our site, resulting in flooding all the way up to our new building. This spectacular flooding revealed that the subsurface pipe exiting our property was clogged somewhere downstream. Through our contractor’s diligence, the clog location was narrowed down to the neighboring property. Our kind new neighbor gave us permission to dig up his yard to fix the clog. The culprit? Roots from the neighbor’s willow trees had penetrated the drain, clogging the 4 foot deep pipe like a slimy hairball. |
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| The slimy root ball fell mostly on the ground. |
| This mishap delayed construction, but we are getting back on track! Ideally, our production area will be operable at the Curve Rd site sometime this month. We don’t want to have to move newly potted plants this summer when we finally move from our current location. The silver lining here is that we know we will have plenty of water to fill our new pond and restored wetland, and we’re excited to have these example habitats to delight and educate our nursery visitors. We welcome help with the new site and preparing to move. One way to help is to buy your native plants from us this spring. We have a record amount of inventory, and we don’t want to have to move it in July! Another way to help is to join us at the Curve Rd site on April 22, where we are hosting an Earth Day Columbus bare-root tree planting. If you are interested, please sign up HERE! Follow along for updates about construction progress and how to be involved, and for notices when popular spring crops are ready for sale at our current site this spring. We are excited to see you! “In the aftermath of the flood, new beginnings sprouted like seeds in fertile soil.” The Flood |
March 2024 Newsletter
