{Aristobchia durior) create a focal 

 point. The whole area seems park- 

 like — there are places to sit; it feels 

 natural to stroll. 



THE PERENNIALS are arranged 

 alphabetically according to Latin 

 name. The catalog listing is alpha- 

 betical as well: "This makes it easier 

 for the customer to find things and 

 easier for us to restock." The types 

 offered are hardy — mostly zone 3 and 

 4 — asters, yarrow, phlox.. .there's a 

 big selection of sedums and rock gar- 

 den plants. 



To the left of the perennial area 

 are two other lath houses, a 30x50 

 house holding rhododendrons and 

 azaleas and a 36x84 holding ever- 

 greens. 



Fruit trees are a McSherry spe- 

 cialty — trees with Mailing 7 or 7-A 

 rootstocks. Most are apples, but they 

 do sell some pears and the Reliance 

 Peach. They come bare-root. To 

 burlap them, McSherry's rents a mor- 

 tar mixer to make the mix (two parts 

 loam, one part peat). A plastic bag is 

 put in a form and the burlap bag in- 

 side that. The tiee is planted; the 

 bags gathered, tied. The plastic holds 

 the moisture — "we usually don't have 

 to water until July." 



"What grows in Portsmouth does- 

 n't grow up here," but McSherry's 



sells a lot of rhododendrons — the 

 hardier types: Nova Zembla, Cataw- 

 ba; "PJM is wonderful." They sell 

 only the Mountain Andromeda — 

 "the only one we can grow." They 

 buy from northern growers. The 

 PJM's come from Western Maine 

 ("They bloom at the right time. It's 

 important to have stock that's al- 

 ready adapted to northern climates. ) 

 Along with the evergreens it ships 

 in, McSherry's sells its own home- 

 grown mugho pine, white pine, yew, 

 and arborvitae. 



GAIL RELIES on direct mail adver- 

 tising to get the word out. She has a 

 list of about 5000 customers and four 

 or five times during; the growing sea- 

 son, these customers receive a flier. 

 The first is an announcement of their 

 "Annual Spring Celebration" which 

 is usually the weekend before Mo- 

 ther's Day. (refreshments, door 

 prizes, free plants, and "specials.") 

 The second will be sent before 

 Memorial Day. She doesn't print a 

 price list — "we want people to come 

 and look." 



She also advertises in the Conwav 

 and Bridgton (Maine) papers and 

 may try radio — if the budget permits. 



"Quality is our main selling point 

 — quality and service. This is what 

 we stress. Number three is price. 



Sure, we have a lot of gallon-and-a- 

 half flowering shrubs for $9.99 and 

 one-gallon junipers for $6.99. The 

 market demands that. We accommo- 

 date that need, but our primary con- 

 cern is quality and quality is more 

 expensive because it's so labor 

 intensive." 



This year there will be an ad- 

 ditional selling point — a small 

 (12x20) house for selling bright, 

 colorful container gardens — a 'garden' 

 of annuals in a single pot to be used 

 for Memorial Day or simply for color 

 on a patio or deck. The 'house' is 

 actually three frames that will support 

 plastic weather shading. But it's in a 

 prominent position — right up front, 

 between the store's main door and the 

 Garden Mart. Gail expects lots of 

 sales and a big success. 



As 1 leave, 1 notice stratus clouds 

 moving in from the west — snow is 

 forecast for tonight — but there is a 

 robin in the parking lot. Spring is 

 coming to the mountains. And 

 McSherr>-'s will be ready. With 

 flamingos and quality — and color 

 everywhere. B.P. 



For/urt)i£r(n/ormarion, McSherry's Nur- 

 sery is located in Center Conway on Route 

 302 1 112 miles west of the Maine state 

 Itne. The phone is (603)447-5442. t^, 



NORTHERN NURSERIES 



WHOLESALE HORTICULTURAL DISTRIBUTION CENTERS 



U.S. Route 5, White River Junction, VT 05001 

 16 Pinkham Road West, Barrington, Nh 03825 



SERVING THE PROFESSIONAL 



WITH ABOVE GROUND PLANT MATERIA!. 



Distributors in the following lines: 



• Lofts Seeds • Birchmeier Sprayers 



• DeWitt Weed Barrier 



• Corona Hand Tools 



• Earthvvay Spreaders 



• Lebanon Turf" Fertilizers 



• Mulch & Grow Hysroseeding Fiber 



• Niu-ser\' & Landscape Supplies 



Contact: 



Jim Babb, Mgi., White River Junction, VT, (802) 295-2117 



Bob AvereU, Mgr., Barrington, NH, (603) 868-7172 ^'^ 



GOOD SERVICE • DEPENDABLE QUALITY • CONVENIENT LOCATION 



J une/J uly 1992 23 



