Seasonal Notes

We are a “Plants, Seeds, Soils, Pots, and Garden sort of Shop”. Outdoors we have the widest selection of Sierra native plants, trees and shrubs selected for their long-term survival here and cultured for our heavy snow-loads, and hardy perennials and wildflowers from the mountain-west and from the coldest, harshest locations around the globe. Plus there are large pots, wooden barrels, organic soil amendments and garden art.  Inside the shop is full of healthy tropical houseplants, bulbs, wildflower seeds, vegetable seeds, indoor gardening gear, pottery, potting soils, organic fertilizers, pruning tools, and plant nutrients, as well as seed-sprouting supplies. We also have every gardener’s favorite present: gift certificates (on-line) from your experienced local garden center.

August-Early September, late summer (& locals’ summer)
We’re open 6 days a week, early and late in August.  We mountain adapted humans are often seeking shade, water, and wildflowers so gardening drops off a bit this time of year.
Open Mon-Sat 9:00-5:30* and CLOSED on Sundays
*(always weather dependent… if the weather is super snowy or deeply cold or over 95º -ugh!- we may delay openings or close a little early).

Historically, Truckee’s “frost-free” period (when the chance of frost drops below 15%) is July 15 through August 15. Our growing season is remarkably short, so getting plants established as early as possible is always important. The old saying says: “When is the best time to plant a tree? Ten years ago.” The next-best time is today.

There really is no single BEST time to plant, and for hardy plants, very little of the growing season is a BAD time to plant. Certainly, digging through frozen soil or several feet of snow is inconvenient, but woody and herbaceous perennials are almost always happier in the ground than they are sitting in pots. In our short growing season, the sooner you plant, the better.
August is the beginning of our favorite planting season.
August may be our quietest month, but it marks the beginning of one of the best times of year to establish hardy plants. Days and evenings are still warm and gradually cooling. Cooler days make gardening a much more enjoyable pastime.
Trees, shrubs, perennials, vines, native plants, and wildflowers planted now still have plenty of time to capture sunlight, photosynthesize, store energy, establish vital relationships with soil microbes, acclimate their tissues to their new home, and, most importantly, continue expanding their root systems well into fall.
That head-start below ground makes all the difference in our short-season climate and helps produce stronger, more vigorous growth next spring.  The best time to plant? Today.

If you need something, are looking for a particular plant, or simply have questions, please give us a call.
We’re Here to Help. Even when the shop is “closed” in winter, we are constantly around, tending to the plants, cats, orders, plans, and bids. If you need a specific product, a project bid, or a consultation, please email us. We check messages nightly and will get back to you within a couple of days. You can also leave a voicemail at 530-587-0771.

Best wishes for a better 2026! Here’s to Science, to Research, to Data, to Facts, to Education, to Kindness, to Sanity, to Truth, to Grace, and to Hope. Be Grateful. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Be nice. Try.

Check our Instagram or Facebook or the references page on this website for updates, informational sheets, class hand-outs and calendar updates. 

Villager Nursery garden center has been serving Truckee, Tahoe, and the Northern High Sierra for more than 50 years. In 1951 Donner Florist opened in the original Gateway Park Shopping Center next to the Gateway Motel. It was Donner Florist until at least 1962. In 1975, Jeanette Harper purchased the business as The Villager Florist and began adding a few outdoor plants, creating what would become Villager Nursery. Eric Larusson joined the staff in 1985 and continued to expand the nursery, discover new growers of native and extreme winter-hardy plants, seeds, and sources the best fertilizers and composts. In 1996, we passed the florist business on to an employee and focused whole-heartedly on the plants and materials best suited to our mountain environments: extreme winter-hardy and native plants, hardy summer color, short-season vegetables, and organic landscape supplies. We use regional ecosystems as our model. By integrating native and adapted plants, ecological restoration techniques, and botanical knowledge, we help local gardeners create distinctive landscapes that are rooted in place, and naturalistic in expression. Since 1999, we have been located at the historic west end of Brickelltown, on a property once home to the Varney Dairy and McIver Dairy. The house dates to 1867, and the shop, originally Jim McIver’s blacksmith shop, was built in the 1920s. We are grateful to care for a business and a place with such deep Truckee roots and to honor their legacies.