North End Organic Gardeners!

North End Organic Nursery – The New Kids on the Block

Bright green banners at the old Hillside Nursery site on Hill Road announce the opening of the brand spanking new North End Organic Nursery. Created by two organic gardeners, Elisa Clark and Lindsay Schramm, this is going to be the hip new place to hang if you love organic food and plants.

Elisa, a graduate of the Boise State University Horticulture program, has been designing and installing organic gardens for several years. She owns the company, Flutterby Landscaping. Business partner, Lindsay, hails from Arizona with a background in nutrition and organic small farms.

The focus of NEON (North End Organic Nursery) is all organic, xeric and edible gardens. Two new greenhouses will be constructed on site for growing tomatoes, greens and other vegetables through the winter. A café and juice bar is on the agenda.

Look for a new gazebo, a community garden space for North End residents, compost for purchase, outdoor and indoor classrooms. The nursery will offer classes on organic gardening at for all levels of expertise, lawn care, land care, garden design and installation, water saving irrigation systems, vermiculture (worm compost) , LEED certification for garden designers, and demonstration gardens showcasing water wise plant combinations.

In addition, they will be making room for a new regional non-profit undertaking, the Abundance Project. Started by Kim Metez, the nursery will have a dedicated space where folks with too many tomatoes, potatoes and yes, zucchini, can barter and sell their excess produce for other fruit and vegetables. Kim is also creating the Idaho Seed Savers’ Exchange which will be housed at NEON.

The last couple of weekends the nursery has been open and selling pumpkins and squash.

A grand opening is scheduled for February 1st, 2010.

If you see them at the nursery, please stop and say hello. Visit them online at www.northendnursery.com.