Garden Centers and Nurseries for Lebanon, PA: Independent Family-Owned Businesses

Big box home improvement stores may offer nursery plants during spring, summer, and fall, but they procure these from outside vendors. If one wants to adopt a plant which has been loved from the beginning, try shopping at a family-owned nursery

Along Colebrook Road, also known as Route 241, two family garden centers sit one-eighth of a mile apart in wide open countryside. They are the perfect pair, complementing each other with the distinct products they offer.

Frey's Greenhouse seems very upscale and decorator-focused. Just a stone's throw away, nearby Nolt's Garden Center is the "git-er-done" hardscaping and hardware specialist.

Jerel Frey is the owner of Frey's Greenhouse. He established it in 1981 and it now boasts almost 25,000 square feet of retail greenhouse space. This is the largest of the family nurseries near the city, employing up to 19 staff. The layout is extremely user-friendly with clearly marked sections, artistic signs for plant types, and even numbers assigned for each table of plants.

Frey's offers annual and perennial flowers, herbs, vegetables, bushes, trees, and mulches. What really sets Frey's apart, however, is its offering of accessories. Copious hanging baskets form a Serengiti of choices. Topiaries, decorative pots and containers, and elegant doodads for the outside garden and inside the home make this nursery ann experience!

This nursery is always closed on Sundays.

Irwin Nolt is the owner of this fine nursery, established in 2006. However, the Nolts are no newcomers to the plant trade. This family has been in the business for decades. As the webpage states: "Dad has been in the greenhouse business ever since he was a boy. It started with a single greenhouse beside grandpa’s farm market." Nolt's Garden Center has one location with 5 to 9 employees.

Nolt's stocks a full line of pavers and retaining wall blocks in close to 30 colors. Amazingly, there is no minimum order; one can buy the block by the piece. Add to those the great selection of firepits, fireplaces, chimineas, and grills and one can create an oasis. Delivery for bulky items is available.

As one can see from the photos, Nolt's Garden Center has a hardware store feel with many items displayed on traditional pegboard. Its items are high quality and diverse, just not frilled up with extra merchandising display.

This garden center is closed Sundays.

This center regards shrubbery as its strongest and biggest category. I liked that they have winterberry - a native plant which supports many animals and insects.

Also, they carry butterfly weed perennials. Although the common name includes the word "weed," do not be mislead. This is an important flower for the butterflies which migrate through south-central PA.

What thoroughly impressed me were striking varieties of petunias (see photos below.) Nolt's is an official PW plant grower which provides them the newest varieties. The purple with white stripes is aptly named Pinstripe. The black on is Black Magic.

Sunset Designs sits within the City of Lebanon on North 7th Street. Look for the two huge lampposts, one with seahorses and the other with dolphins. Owner Joe Zidik established this business in 1988. It is modest compared with the prior two nurseries, but meets a need for convenience. They especially supply for water gardens and ponds. It is a single location with 5 to 9 employees. Also, Sunset contracts to provide lawn mowing and landscaping services.

During the summer, this nursery is open limited morning hours on Sundays (call ahead to learn the exact times.)

Frey's Greenhouse - Lebanon

717-272-8447

http://freysgreenhouse.com

Credit cards accepted: MC, VS, Dis, Amex.

Nolt's Garden Center

717-273-8850

http://noltsgardencenter.com/

Credit cards accepted: MC, VS, Dis.

Sunset Designs & Landscaping

717-279-0875

No website.

Credit cards accepted: MC, VS, Dis, Amex.

In the spring, the hearts of young men may turn to baseball or romance, but my heart turns to God's wonderful outside world. All these nurseries have great toys for gardeners such as I.