Some of you may already know that I've decided to close the nursery after some deeply emotional deliberation and facing hard truths.

Here in South Florida, we have faced the most destructive storm season I've ever suffered; and it's only going to get worse.

I started this nursery 13 years ago, in a corner of a backyard, promising to keep my collection limited to the hidden corner where the pool equipment was stored. 

We all know how THAT goes...

I started this from nothing; no business education, no experience running a nursery - just flew by the seat of my pants on an exhilarating rodeo of passion, hard labor. . .blood, sweat, and a LOT of tears. And an irresistible urge to accumulate plants, make more plants, and share them with other Planty Folk. And then make MORE plants. 

In 2014 I finally was able to lease commercial property  with an enormous greenhouse. I often worked all day, and into the night; sleeping in the bed of my Chevy truck for a few hours just to wake up and do it all over again. I was having the time of my life. 

After Hurricane Irma hit, while sorting through the wreckage, the property owner stated they were selling to developers and I had 60 days to vacate myself and my 15,000 plant inventory. 

For a year, the nursery persisted through half a dozen people's backyards, until I purchased the property in Sarasota. 

It was one of those "Everything's going to be ok!" moments. 

How little I knew!

In 2018, I married a man with two beautiful children, and we blended our families and set up the new property. As a single mother for 11 years, I finally felt like I had a storybook family. Again...how little I knew. 

 He and his children were removed via law enforcement when the protective order was granted.  I returned to the nursery, and the devastation was staggering. My grief was already insurmountable knowing I would never see his children again, and that they were forced to leave with this monster.  Many plants had perished without water, and many were stolen. My home on the property was destroyed; its walls, flooring, and even the duct work was strewn across the lawn like entrails from a slaughtered beast. He tore the home apart from the inside out. 

After Hurricane Ian, we began to experience seawater intrusion in the ground water. It did not abate; it got worse. After Hurricanes Helene and Milton, we are now fully inundated and contaminated. The property is salinated; it is a wasteland. 

Every claim submitted to insurance was denied. I am still in litigation from Hurricane Ian with one of the most corrupt insurance companies in Florida. I cannot legally call them out here, but they were one of the companies on the 60-Minute exposee. 

Every plea to FEMA was denied. 

My fences are destroyed, my greenhouses crushed, my groundwater poisoned. My home is still condemned. My stock plants in the ground are dying; we are excavating them as fast as we can. 

I'm telling you my story not because I seek your pity, but because I want you to know I fought hard for this nursery.

 I am only closing it because I've exhausted all resources and all solutions. The nursery has fallen victim to climate change, corruption and injustice - and it is only going to get worse. The melting of the ice caps has changed the jet stream dramatically; hope has run as dry as the aquifers in Texas. 

I now will be offering to you all a chance to buy all the things that were never for sale.

 I will be listing specimen/stock plants over the next few months in the Special Collections section of the website. I will also be moving many plants to the Clearance section. 

Everything must go. 

And it eases my grief knowing it will go to you all. 

You are my tribe, my people, my community, and I love you all so much. 

”

“Until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven’t done a thing. You are just talking.”

-- Wangari Maathai