Comments regarding A Nearly Native Nursery

Simply put NNN has the best selection of quality native material and the owners Jim and Debi are very helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. I am restoring a property and looking to maximize plant diversity and NNN has many species I've not seen elsewhere in the trade.

I couldn’t be happier with the 2 trees (a Black Gum and a Florida Maple) I recently ordered from A Nearly Native Nursery. Debi helped me greatly in the selection process, after a few emails and speaking to her on the phone I was left with the feeling that Nearly Native really cares about the customer’s wants and needs which seems so rare nowadays. My trees arrived at my home in Florida 2 days later, in excellent condition; both the seven gallon and the 1 gallon were packed securely and looked very healthy. I look forward to seeing them leaf out in the spring and hope to place another order with them soon, I only wish I lived closer so that I could visit in person. If you are considering mail order, go for it. A great company and really nice people!

Debi and Jim are extremely knowledgeable and helpful. After losing a 100-year-old tree in October, we decided to seriously redo our front yard. My husband found Nearly Native and was so happy with their selection, help and service that he sent me there. Jim asked good questions about our needs and wants and then worked with us to draw up a new design for our front yard that uses all native plants to provide beauty, shade and food for local birds. When we ordered, everything was carefully and promptly shipped, and they were there to answer every question. When they ran out of a particular plant, they sent one from their own stock.
Now, all we have to do is not kill them (the plants) and wait for them to bloom in the spring.
Thank you, Jim and Debi.

I visited in person and learned so much. I bought the large, healthy shrubs I had intended to buy and received expert advice for the shrubs I need for another area. Jim gave me a great tour of the property and I got so many ideas for my own garden.

Found our Pignut Hickories that don't exist in nurseries in our area (MD, PA,VA,DE). Reasonable sizes and prices. Quick response with detailed info. Shipped on time and planted that day. Freight charges were less than anticipated.

Being a new resident of western North Carolina, I needed to find Chalk Bark Maple trees. A Nearly Native Nursery had them! Received my three trees perfectly packed and they were planted on the full moon! Excellent service and I will be buying from them again. Thanks Nearly Native! Arlene

After inquiring about plants via e-mail, which was answered promptly, I telephoned to order on a day they were closed, but I left my name and number. My call was returned, I placed my order and had a nice chat with Jim about some native plants I'm missing in my current location. He shipped the plants the very next morning, and they arrived via FedEx yesterday. Hubby and I got them into the ground, watered, and mulched, and I'm looking forward to new growth in the spring. The plants were actually taped to the inside of the shipping box so as not to shift around, but this did make for some work in getting them out. Now if I were living where I owned the land and had more space, you can bet I would be ordering more "goodies" from A Nearly Native Nursery. Highly recommended.

They had what I wanted, in abundance. Very polite communications, very knowledgeable answers and the feeling that they're there to help. I think I would call them first when I need a particular plant. Excellent service!

Well worth the drive (from Decatur). Were looking for a particular big leaf magnolia and ended up with it and one more to try plus a couple native azaleas we had not tried yet. Jim took much time showing off his trees and plants. Wonderful to see many of his full grown trees to get an idea of where to put them in our own space. Very knowledgable and passionate about native plants. We will be back with a longer list next time.

Note to anyone tempted to try to eat a whole ghost pepper fresh off the vine with Jim, don't do it! My husband did and was sorry :) Couldn't find enough sweet tea on the ride home to cut through that....

Posted on May 17, 2012, updated November 11, 2013
Debi was ready and waiting with my (somewhat unusual) order for a nature center garden renovation. NNN is the go-to place for native plants -- including the grasses I wanted for this renovation that will become a demonstration garden. Information, questions answered thoroughly and cheerfully, top-quality plant stock: these are the hallmarks of every experience I've had at NNN.

I have dealt with nearly native twice now and the experiences have been great! They are very knowledgable and very professional. I have ordered trees from other online nurseries before and the quality from nearly native is above and beyond anything I have received before. I will be using nearly native any time I want good quality trees at a good price.

Two friends and I drove over an hour to visit the Nearly Native Nursery in Fayetteville, GA. We purchased three trees and some ground cover. We were all blown away by Jim's knowledge. He spent about an hour and a half with us. He showed us growing examples and discussed pro's and con's of each. I have already highly recommended his nursery to three friends and my entire HOA. My friends and I have discussed returning in the spring for more native goodies. If you don't visit this nursery you are missing out on some great plants and knowledge!

My husband and I were looking for "privacy plants", but wanted something a little more interesting than box hedges. The owner and his wife not only spent an hour educating us on the different options available and the care required for each; they made us feel as welcome as old friends. We went home with a trunk full of beautiful species, and they look amazing in our yard! We will definitely be regulars here!

Posted on June 16, 2011, updated October 25, 2013
Nearly Native has quite a variety of native plants. A walk around the grounds lets you see the plants growing in-ground and the owner was generous in sharing his considerable knowledge about the plants. A well-spent afternoon.

Bought a wild olive and some ferns. Jim was extremely knowledgeable and very helpful. I will recommend this nursery to my friends. Worth the drive from ATL!

Posted on October 21, 2012, updated October 19, 2013
Posted on June 2, 2012, updated October 21, 2012
We visit the NNN year after year because the plants they have provided us with have thrived in our yard and their knowledge & joy in growing them is contageous. Their gardens are amazing and their plant selection is a welcome change from the big-box hardware store garden centers.

I ordered two different dogwoods that I was unable to find anywhere else. The trees just arrived. First I received an email from Debi at Nearly Native confirming whether shipping now would suit me. Very friendly correspondence and I appreciated the heads-up the trees were coming. They were very well packed, & arrived via fedex. I assumed they'd be bare-root, but instead they came with a lot of soil around the roots. Everything looked very healthy and the trees are good size. Will definitely buy again from them! great selection!

I ordered five native trees from Nearly Native. I appreciated the email in advance letting me know when they were ready to ship. They arrived in really good condition & are in the ground, doing well :)

I came to this nursery to find a specific plant for a research project that no one else seemed to carry. I was so glad I found this place! Not only did I find my plant but I had a great time. Jim and Debi are absolutely wonderful! They really know their stuff and are the most helpful people you could ask for. I will definitely tell others about their nursery and I will make more trips in the future!

Jim was very helpful with the plant selection process. I was looking for a specific holly - Yaupon Holly - and he had it in stock! The price was good and Jim was able to advise us on the best planting location and soil characteristics. We also purchased an Oglethorpe Oak which was great considering that is our home county. My husband added a "George Peabody" Thuja to the mix! Debi also introduced us to their friendly Macaws. Thanks for being so helpful and flexible with the late night pickup as well! Debbie and Bill Cosgrove Arnoldsville, GA

Debi and Jim are fabulous! I'm a professional gardener in the foothills of the western Carolinas and I had a difficult project going. The site was uncompacted fill with a difficult exposure. The homeowners wanted native plants, including a devilwood tree, at the end of the season, literally. Not only did Debi stay in close contact concerning what stock was available, she also had great subsitutes ready to go. Since it was too late to ship, we had to drive to Fayetteville through Atlanta (don't rely on google maps)and became incredibly lost. Debi stayed with us on the phone while we backtracked, and when we arrived she had everything ready, including cold drinks for us. Jim potted plants for us as we loaded, and they even gave us a reemay blanket for transporting the plants home safely. I feel like I made new friends, and I recommend them highly.

Sent an email and called and talked to the folks about ordering a particular plant. They were helpful and worked in a last minute shipment for me which I really appreciated. Plant looks good and I will probably order from them again.

We purchased banana plants from Jim and Debi and it was wonderful. I loved talking with them and will be buying from them again in the future. Definitely go to them if you want something different and need good advice on plants.

They were very informative and helped us decide on the right plants for our lakeside lot. We learned so much from our visit and look forward to learning more in the future as we will be purchasing from them again!

Have been shopping with Nearly Native Nursery for years
Jim is very knowledgeable and always ready to help with advice and suggestions

Have never had any problems with plant quality or customer service

Highly recommended

I have been coming to Nearly Native for years and have always had a positive experience. Jim and Deb spend time listening and then discussing your specific needs. The plant selection is great and I never leave without a good idea of what to plant , how to care for it and where to plant it. I have been pleased with every plant I have purchased and look forward to moving to more Native plants on my property.

Posted on October 17, 2011, updated June 1, 2013
I ordered an Halesia diptera and it arrived about two days after it was sent. The tree was in fine condition, very tall (about 4 feet) with leaves on every branch (they were still green). When I finally got it out of the box I noticed that a certain amount of branches had been cut off along the skinny trunk probably to fit it into the box and to reduce the stress of trying to maintain its vigorous growth during the trip and transplantation. The box was clearly marked which side was up. I was easily able to open the top but could not figure out the easiest way to extract the tree from the box. Fortunately I did not try to tip it upside down, nor try to pull the top of the tree to get it out. I could sense that something was making it stick to the box, which was good because that is how it arrived undamaged by not shifting at all. There did not seem to be any obvious place to begin further opening the box, I was a little perplexed (anxious 'cause I did want to get it out and see my long-awaited prize). I basically had to rip and cut with a box cutter down a couple edges of the length of the box, thinking that once I got close to the bottom I could simply lift up the base , the root ball. Well, the root ball was covered with plastic tied up at the top of the stalk of the tree and inside the plastic cover the paper holding the root ball contents was stuck to the box by many strips of plastic adhesive tape. Okay, it was secure, yes ingeniously held firmly in place. Problem was by the time I got the tree separated from the box the paper holding the root ball opened up and the soil material and roots came falling out. Anyway, I had the planting site all ready so there was no time spent sitting exposed in the elements. I got it planted and decided to use a few bamboo stakes to firm-up the tree which was long and skinny. I am sure this is typical of its development. My receipt was included in the box as were instructions on planting, also written in hand was a note to stake the tree because of its brittle characteristics. The tree has been in the ground now for about four days, its lost some leaves which seems normal due to the unpacking, maybe birds landing on their twigs. I think it looks like it will make it. I'm being careful not to over water it but still don't want the root ball to dry out. Luckily this is the best time of year for it to be put in the ground so I have high hopes it will transition into its new environment.

I will not hesitate to order from Nearly Native in the future, I'll just find out from them how best to unwrap the box to protect the plant. The prices are fair, the shipping is short, you can get them on the phone, and they follow-up reasonably well by email. I think it is good to spread the business to a few well-respected nurseries of the internet, you've got to weigh the factors such as inventory, experience, service, quality of product, and certainly customer ratings. I have just finished using three of these companies listed in the top 30 of Dave's Garden all of whom are in about a 600 mile radius and I feel I succeeded in obtaining the specialized trees that I wanted that are in good condition and will adapt to my area (and my care). So, thank you to all vendors, users, web designers etc.

I had not been for a while to Nearly Native. They are just as helpful as I had remembered. Personal service in a very relaxed atmosphere and a wealth of knowledge. The location is a paradise in the spring with all of the happy plants showing their best colors. A must see if you are in the area.

My fiance and I drove from Columbus, GA to visit the Nearly Native Nursery in search of Paw Paw trees and we were blown away. Their land is beautiful, their gardens are beautiful and all the plants for sale are in fantastic shape with fair pricing.

The customer service here is beyond excellent and everyone is friendly and extremely knowledgeable regarding their trade and very, very honest.

Needless to say, we will be back! This is definitely the place we've been looking for to buy our native greens from and I would recommend this place to anyone and everyone, these people know their stuff!

Made a trip to purposefully visit this nursery again. Many Piedmont native plants are available that you can't find in big box stores or even local nurseries.

Every visit introduces me to new natives that I may have previously been unaware of even though I have been involved with natives for at least 30 years.

Good place to find native trees

Great folks at "Nearly Native Nursery"!
I came upon the Nearly Native Nursery website while searching for information on trees native to the southeast. I gave them a call after seeing the tree I was looking for in their inventory list. The folks there were a joy to talk to. They understood my desire to go with native trees, and were helpful and spot on with their advice. The seedling trees I ordered were healthy and vibrant, reasonably priced (especially compared to my local nursery) and larger then I expected! And you would never know they were recently transplanted! They have taken to my yard like they sprouted here :) The shipping was a little costly, but to have them delivered as timely - in 2 days, exactly as was promised! - and as safely as they were - the packaging was fantastic - I'll definitely pay it again. 'Nearly Native Nursery' will be getting all my landscaping business from now on!

I found Nearly Native Nursery in a search for native milkweed and was delighted by their extensive selection of many rare, important and hard-to-find natives. The customer experience was excellent--friendly, highly knowledgeable, and helpful. A real gem in Georgia!

Well, I'll be honest. I've ordered from several very good companies. This one was has surpassed them all. Best looking healthy plants I've received. Best root systems I've ever received. I'm tired from getting the 3 shrubs and 2 trees unpacked. They were in no danger of getting damaged during shipping. Very pleasant experience, just like one hopes for. Nice people to deal with. Now I'm excited to order again.

I ordered several Florida anise shrubs as I could not find them in the DC area. Fabulous service...responsible, fast, excellent packaging and follow up. I would use them again without hesitation.

Excellent knowledge of native plants; customer service is unusually good. A visit this nursery is a learning experience!

One of the best nursery I have ever visited. Incredible selection, helpful, detailed instructions. The owners are passionate about their plants and in teaching you about the plants, how to care for them and even how to propagate them. They cared about the garden I wanted to create and offered to find the varieties I was missing. I love that they are helping to re-populate endangered plants and native varieties. One of the best ways to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon is a visit to this nursery.

Posted on April 4, 2011, updated April 23, 2013
I received nine 3-gal. Brackens Brown Beauty Magnolia grandiflora. Beautiful plants in excellent condition. Plants arrived fast w/best packing job I have ever seen. Not a leaf was out of place. Definitely will be a repeat customer.

Posted on January 16, 2009, updated April 21, 2013
I have always had great service when I order from them.They have a great selection of plants and they are packed so good that I have never lost a plant in five years of ordering.A five star company!!!!

I always enjoy stopping by Nearly Native. I love the information and ideas I receive from Jim. The prices and size selections are always good. I just wish I had his green thumb.