Villager Nursery
Experienced High-Sierra guides. Here to help with gardening and landscaping in our very challenging growing conditions.
Located in Truckee, California
Our purpose, as always, is to remain the primary source for honest and reliable high-Sierra gardening information while offering the widest and most interesting variety of native, extreme climate, fascinating, showy and cold hardy plants, as well as the appropriate organic fertilizers and finest soil amendments available.
Our hope is only to give our clients everything they need to succeed and find satisfaction in their mountain planters, gardens and landscapes.
Seasonal Notes
September in Truckee. The days are rapidly getting shorter now as we barrel headlong toward the autumnal equinox and the fall planting season. While it is a GREAT time to plant wildflowers and wildflower seeds, it is still too early to start planting bulbs (except Colchicum and Iris… plant those NOW). The approach of Autumn weather is THE best time to get perenials, trees and shrubs into the ground to capitalize on the still warming soil temperatures with cooler air termpratures. September’s average daytime temps start near 80°F and begin October near 70°F but nighttime temperatures start near 40° and finish the month, a little below freezing ~30ºF. Fall color begins to show in abundance by later this month. Villager Nursery has a great selection of tough-as-nails hardy perenial bulbs that we select for our gardens. These are the bulbs that always grow well. Most bulbs are planted from late September through November… never waste a planting hole… IF you are planting a tree or shrub in fall, always toss in a few bulbs for easy and fun late winter color.
Please sign-up for our VERY occasional newsletter if you are interested and/ or check our Instagram, Twitter or Facebook pages (villagernursery). Garden Centers and Nurseries are considered “essential” part of our food distribution and agricultural food production system as well as under the hardware designation. We will do our best to offer our services safely, for as long as possible.
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We are always interested in quality staff, partners and volunteers. Please use the form to inform us if you’re interested!
Your Mountain and Native plant source
Villager Nursery brings you many of the most cold-hardy and abuse tolerant plants on Earth. We collect seeds and cuttings of local High Sierra, Great Basin and Rocky Mountain native plants for propagation and contract growing. We produce many of the best plants and offer selections that are available almost nowhere else. …from remote locations.
The High Sierra Garden Experts
Eric, Rob and the knowledgeable staff at Villager Nursery have decades of experience in what works in Truckee and Tahoe’s high mountain environments. Visit the store today for seeds, bulbs, perennials, annual color, trees, shrubs, composts, organic fertilizers, pottery, art, and more!
Villager Journal
Timely information for Mt. Gardeners throughout the northern Sierras.Villager Handouts
PDF's and Newsletters with relevant information for gardening in the Sierras.Seasonal Guides
Resource guides for a successful garden.Seed Starting:
In and Out
We have a large selection of seeds we select for this climate. We’ve been landscaping already. Planting aspen and spiraea. We have loads of nice hardy perennials that have over-wintered and are hoping to go into the ground ASAP. We’re setting up a few benches this week and opening the greenhouse. We have hardy veggie starts and some of the hardiest flooming plants arriving next week. (for perspective, I used to fill planter box, in front of our old florist shop, for Valentines Day every year… pansys, violas, primrose, Dianthus, Calendula, English daisy and others can take 10°F – NO problem.)
Truckee Tradition: Sweet Peas. Soak over night in clean water. Sprout on a moist paper towel in a plastic bag for 3 days. Plant in April 1st. Still a little early for snow or snap peas. Plant beets and radish through the snow if you still have any. Lots of seeds need to be started indoors NOW.
The Home of your garden and planting needs
We are a mountain nursery, so we incorporate every possible local and western intermountain native plant into our inventory and our landscapes. Many of our plants are grown from seed or cuttings that we’ve collected. Our staff and interns are encouraged to get out and hike as often as possible and note where, why and how plants thrive where they are found. Below are some of the items we carry.
Annual Color
We offer an insane variety of annual color, texture and dimension to beautify your deck, porch and patio each summer. The mix changes with the seasons.
Perennials
The Sierra’s largest variety of hardy perennials and wildflowers, hand picked by the experts for Truckee and Tahoe mountain gardens. There are plants for every ecosystem and microclimate.
Shrubs
Shrubs fill-out every landscape. From a wide selection of natives to exotic and fruiting species, we offer smaller woody plants for flowers, fall colors, heavy snow-loads and dense screening.
Trees
The giants that surround us affect every aspect of the climate around our homes. Adding trees for shade, privacy, spring, blooms, fall colors and fruit improves your landscape and our environment. We provide you with all the best species that thrive here.
Seeds
Our experience in this challenging environment allows Villager Nursery to gather the best selections of vegetable, herb, greens, flower, wildflower, grass and mixtures for the very best success rates possible.
Pottery & Art
We carry a variety of pottery, planters, lawn and garden art
Bulbs
“Bulbs” as a group of plants adapted to long periods of dormancy and harsh conditions are some of our favorite hardy perennials. We have a tremendous away of hardy bulbs selected for their resistance to being eaten and for their incredible resilience.
Indoor Plants
We would not be a real garden center without a wide variety house plants, tropicals, tender succulents and cactus as well as all the pottery, specialty soils and nutrients to help them thrive.
Potting Soils, Composts and Mulch
Worm castings to chicken manure, neem seed meal to fish bone meal, top soil, bark mulch and vegetable planting mixes and much more, we carry all of the right organics for your garden.
Fertilizers
We carry a range of fertilizers that meet the needs of growing in our area. From Lawn, BioSol and Cactus Fertilizers, to veggie, orchid, houseplant fertilizers and more.
Villager Online store
Shop online for Recommended Books, Wildflower Seeds and Gift Cards.“In this ever-changing society, the most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart. They are real and sustainable. Their foundations are stronger because they are built with the strength of the human spirit, not an ad campaign. The companies that are lasting are those that are authentic.”
~Howard Schultz
