Country Road Greenhouses

03/18/2026

Just a friendly reminder...
LESS than 2 months away!!!
See you here!
What loyal customers we have!

03/18/2026

Go Native in 2026!

Five years ago, they threw these plants in the dumpster.
Seriously. Echinacea. Asclepias. The actual plants that built the prairie. Garden centers in Illinois couldn't give them away—they sat in back corners with yellowing clearance tags, marked down to 99 cents, while shoppers rushed past with carts full of chemical-dependent boxwoods and imported hostas that feed absolutely nothing. The natives were considered trash. Unruly. Too weedy for the suburban aesthetic machine.
Now look at that photo. That is not the discount rack. That is the front entrance. The Chicago Tribune just confirmed what nursery owners are witnessing: native plant sales nearly doubled in two years at Illinois garden centers. One Monee nursery sold more native stock in the first eight months of 2025 than in all of 2024 combined. The plants they literally couldn't pay people to take are now selling out by 10 AM, and customers are lining up asking specifically for "the ones that save the monarchs."
This isn't a gardening trend. This is ecological triage. People finally figured out that a monarch butterfly cannot recognize a boxwood—chemically, visually, evolutionarily, it is a foreign object, a green plastic sculpture. But that milkweed? That is food. That is home. The roots on these natives dive fifteen feet deep compared to turf grass's pathetic three inches, storing carbon, filtering agricultural runoff, preventing basement floods while above ground they run a 24-hour buffet for the insects that run the entire food web.
Chicago-area butterfly counts stabilized this year for the first time in twenty years. Not because of some distant government preserve. Because millions of ordinary people looked at their lawns and decided they were done maintaining ecological wastelands. That photo is the ammunition dump for a revolution happening in pots and backyards, one patch of prairie at a time. The insects are already showing up to the party. You just have to send the invitation.

01/29/2026

With Citizens for Conservation – We just made it onto their weekly engagement list by being one of their top engagers 🎉 GREAT Organization!

01/06/2026

The hibernation is over - we are getting ready for a BIG year again this year! Just a little over 4 months away!

Event link: https://www.facebook.com/share/1A9hozhNFt/

10/10/2025

This year we participated in Cherry Valley Library's Scarecrows on Parade fundraiser! If you're nearby, be sure to check out all the fun scarecrows on display. Ours is #48, Henrietta the Scholarly Monarch. She's reading the latest edition of Where the Wild Things Grow 🦋

All funds go to the library if you'd like to participate in voting. Votes are $1 each: https://www.cherryvalleylib.org/wpcherryvalley/scarecrow-gallery/

09/30/2025

09/29/2025

Thank you to all who came out this weekend to our 3rd Annual Fall Native Plant Sale! Our biggest sale yet, offering over 140 Native species! We met so many new people, people who travelled a long way, and of course we are blessed to have SO MANY LOYAL CUSTOMERS who come back EVERY sale! Thank you all! We remembered to take a few pictures this year!
See you at our 8th Annual SPRING Plant Sale on Sat. May 16th & Sun. May 17th - https://www.facebook.com/events/1337570624706613?active_tab=about

09/29/2025

Thank you WIFR! Go Native & Grow Native!

Country Road greenhouses hosted their second annual fall plant sale this past weekend, raising awareness for buying native plants.

09/29/2025

Amazing photographer!

An American Copper Butterfly on a blooming Smooth blue aster flower!

These tiny butterflies are quite abundant in our prairie lately, but you have to look very closely to see them. They’re only about the size of a quarter, and have an average wingspan of about 1 inch.
The prairie has really grown and matured this past year and has hosted many different insects and other wildlife. The predominant feature of the praire right now is the native grasses like little bluestem, switchgrass, and Indian grass. However, there is still some of the later blooming flowers on display now as well, such as the asters (smooth blue, sky blue, & white heath aster) as well as some goldenrod species (gray goldenrod, stiff goldenrod, and showy goldenrod).
I will share a picture in the comments section of our dog Gracie next to the prairie to get an idea of the height of some of these plants now!

09/22/2025

2025 Fall Plant Sale - We are just A FEW DAYS AWAY from seeing old friends and making some new ones, too! We just may have some new surprises, too! Let us help you "Grow Native" in FALL 2025!!!
We are working to make this our best sale ever! See you Saturday & Sunday, Sept 27th / 28th! Headon's Grill On The Go will be here on Saturday! Pre-Order via Messenger / email [email protected] or call.
SEE YOU THIS WEEKEND!

09/17/2025

2025 Fall Plant Sale We are happy to report our Plant Sale prices have not increased in the last 3 years! (Who else can say that?)
We are also offering multiple sizes of Native Shrubs this year! (1 gallon / 2 gallon / 3 gallon pots!) 140+ Native species of Forbs, Grasses, Sedges, Rushes, Shrubs & Trees Available!!! See you on 9/27 & 9/28! Headons on-the-go will be grilling again this year!