“The customer is always looking for something fresh,” Paul Grime said. “At the end of the day, a healthier plant equals a happier customer.”

It's been said that the ideal setting for a retail nursery is a flat piece of property with plenty of parking. However, located on a section of rolling hills in Northern Vermont, is a charming, three season nursery and garden center.

Grime Greenhouse & Nursery began about 30 years ago as a landscaping company located in the outskirts of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Owners Paul and Bridget Grime expanded the landscaping business in the first decade. As they grew, they recognized a need to be able to supply unique trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals.

Fulfilling this need led to developing their nursery on a 20 acre piece of land with a great deal of character. This quaint and charming nursery installed their first Rimol Greenhouse about 14 years ago and heated the greenhouse with wood. As the business developed, they added several more greenhouses of various widths and lengths to fit into certain locations throughout the nursery according to the best terrain available.

In the early years, they heated most of their greenhouses with wood furnaces that had to be stoked every 3-4 hours during the cooler months of growing, which was cumbersome and grueling at times. However, they recently installed a state-of-the-art wood burning furnace that heats three of their greenhouses with exact precision, and the furnace only has be stoked about every eight hours during maximum heating season. They burn about 20 cords of wood a year with their furnaces.

Now with six Rimol free-standing greenhouses and two cold frames, they grow quite a variety of annuals, perennials and mums. The variety allows them to sell both retail and wholesale to customers within about a 30 mile radius. Grime Greenhouse & Nursery is a three season nursery with spring/summer, the fall and Christmas.

They grow Christmas trees for ‘choose your own and cut’, but for customers who just want to purchase a pre-cut tree, they display some trees in one of their Rimol greenhouses. Adding flavor and creativity abounds all year round. During the fall and Christmas, they have a donut making machine which is a big hit with their customers, and they also press cider.

As you walk around Grime Greenhouse & Nursery, their theme colors are red and green. However, nothing is linear and routine looking as their creativity shines. On some of the end walls of their greenhouses, they have some small mirrors which provide an illusion when you first look at them. However, this illusion draws you inside to explore.

Grime Greenhouse & Nursery is a fun and eclectic nursery and garden center that dares to be different with their business. If you are ever driving through Northern Vermont, stop in for a cup of cider and a donut while you meander throughout their charming nursery.

Click here to visit their website.