In the Garden with Bates Nursery

07/10/2020

Saturday Morning from 8-9a; Brent Grunfeld from Monrovia will be our guest on the "Hot Seat"

We're all ready on the set. This week we are featuring plants entirely from Monrovia. We welcome special guest Brent Grunfeld from Monrovia to discuss their plants. Tune in Saturday morning from 8-9a. Have questions? Call, ask, and leave message:
615-499-6690

05/02/2020

Tomorrow @ 8am! Tune in!

New blog is up: Eat Your Yard. Read it here: https://www.batesnursery.com/blogs/in-the-garden-with-bates-nursery/eat-your-yard

04/16/2020

A few words about Mother Nature...

We have passed our average last frost date.  Right on cue, we received an average frost; actually it was slightly above average (or is it below?), because in many areas, a freeze was received.  Here at the nursery, we experienced low temperatures of 26.8 and 30.8 on consecutive nights.  Not just ...

04/06/2020

Some 45 minutes prior to yesterday’s newsletter, Governor Lee issued a much stronger ‘Stay At Home’ order.  If you read yesterday’s newsletter, you know that I agree with that assessment of our situation.  Indeed, we are moving about at great peril.

03/30/2020

The Road Ahead

We need your help to assure the safety of everyone…

We have collectively taken a turn down a dark and perilous road. No one can say with certainty, precisely what lies ahead. Everyone has made many changes that only two weeks ago would have seemed unthinkable. The Sunday declaration from Mayor Cooper is clear: It is safer at home. So, am I asking you to stay away? No. What I am asking for is your help, and understanding, as we work through the most difficult time in all of our lives.

Around the country, we have witnessed poor behavior by a few; we have also seen some reckless disregard for the well-being of others. Being designated as an essential business might seem like a blessing; in most ways it is. However, with that designation comes the weight of responsibility to conduct our business safely, and to do so without previous experience of a situation of this magnitude.

Our forecast looks good in the coming days. It is gardening weather, a joy to be outside. That said, I have great concerns about our ability to handle spring crowds. I am forced to face the reality of the limitations of our facility, our staff, and myself. If we successfully negotiate this maze of coronavirus, it will require participation by everyone.

We must avoid crowds. Here is what I ask: Shop alone. If at all possible, please do not bring your spouse, children, grandchildren or pets at this time. Consider shopping at off-peak times. 9-11am and 1-3pm. Weekends are a great time to plant, but weekday shopping is normally much less crowded. Shop online by clicking here: www.batesnursery.com. We have a newly designated curbside pickup area, adjacent to the parking lot. Call 615-268-2357 when you arrive, for loading your order.

We have laid out checkout waiting lanes. We have added staff to expedite the checkout process.

For up-to-minute goings-on, Saturday mornings for The At Home Show, LIVE broadcast on Facebook from 8-9am. Call the live show, or leave message: 615-499-6690. click here: https://www.facebook.com/athomeydontplaythat/

This is something we must do… together.

David Bates

Follow to join the fun! Weekly live show and podcast giving you plant advice for any space in your life! Email questions and photos: [email protected]

03/19/2020

Business As Unusual

We’re working at ‘Flattening the Curve’; we have online ‘gardening tools’ to help!

We’re all in this. No one is exempt. We have not been here before. We are all making significant changes. We must. Everyone is examining their daily routine. Everyone. Our collective sense of priority is changing week-by-week, day-by-day, and minute-by-minute.

We hope to provide a calming effect.

Social distancing is a phrase that was perhaps never expressed, prior to last week. The new normal, for the foreseeable future, is to avoid congregating, even in small groups. Like every other business, we have spent many hours in discussion as how to best deal with our common malady. We have come up with a variety of tools to give you options as you plan your springtime digging endeavors. That said, for the near future, it will be business as unusual.

Our large open-air sales facility is a naturally detrimental setting for the transmission of pathogens. The overwhelming majority of our site is outdoors; the remaining greenhouse and checkout structures receive copious natural ventilation, as well as mechanically by fans. We also have six checkouts, which have proven effective at eliminating lines. The physical area that we have insures the ability to maintain safe and comfortable distances from others.

We also know that you may have concerns about going out and shopping anywhere. We have tools to deal with that. Simply go to our website: www.batesnursery.com. Once there, you will find most of our inventory is shoppable online! If you have not previously set up your online account (it is separate from the in-store account), click here for our webpage with video tutorial https://www.batesnursery.com/blogs/tips-and-tricks/. Place your order and set up delivery, or we’ll pull your order for you, so that you can simply drive out and pick it up. We’ll load it; you don’t even have to get out of your car!

Gardening is more than a hobby; it is therapeutic. I suspect many of us (self included) are in need of all available stress relief we can get. We are here; open, business as unusual.

David Bates