While you as a homeowner may see yourself as part designer, part contractor, part landscape artist and perhaps professional painter, might those be the very skills best left to professionals?
Standing in your backyard, or your front yard, for that matter, and lamenting the lack of flora, you may think a simple trip to Home Depot might do the trick. A plant here, a fern there, maybe a potted tree somewhere? Au contraire, mon ami.
Like every art and skill, creating a garden and landscape to be proud of might take a little guidance.
“It’s just a lot easier when we have all the plants for you to choose from here,” said Payton Robinson of the new Standard Design Group Nursery, which took over the site of the former Kettle’s Nursery on Lincoln Avenue at the Pasadena/Altadena border and opened Feb. 5.
“Our customers are people who are looking to add green into their homes and into their life,” said Robinson during a recent visit. “People who don’t know how to, or don’t know what to do, but want that added color and added nature into their homes and outside of their homes.
“We know how well these plants do,” Robinson continued, clearly in his happy place.
“We know how great they do if you’re a new homeowner and you wanna make your house look good in Southern California,” he said, “but you’re from New York. You don’t know any plants. We do.”
Walking through the outdoor garden and its arrangements of everything from Koi ponds and water features, to a small desert setting with Mediterranean olive trees, and a back fence lined with tall potted hedges, ready to plant, is a plant-lovers delight, even without the massive tree fern sitting smack dab in the middle of the store’s interior.
Along with the knowledge and expertise the staff brings to the nursery process, there is a holistic approach to the nursery as well.
As Robinson explained, “Someone will come out there to your house and literally, work with your budget and design it for you. So consultations are huge for us, and it’s something that we will go out of our way to make happen for our customers.
But he also emphasizes that they also want customers to come say hello to the koi fish in their ponds.
“We want people to feel how awesome the space is, and how it really is like a little oasis,” he said.
And if a homeowner wants an oasis of their own, they’re only too happy to help, says Robinson
“We’re going to help you decide what works best for you, help you plan your look, and even deliver them to you, if necessary,” Robinson added, “and it will look great, but what happens when it just overgrows, and no one knows how to take care of it? Or, no one’s there long term for you, so here we are.”
Robinson also pointed out proudly that the nursery also offers a two-year warranty on every plant they sell. That’s confidence.
Mother Nature never had a better friend.
Standard Design Group Nursery is at 1950 Lincoln Ave, Pasadena (626) 610-4648. www.thestandarddesigngroup.com
