Established in 1937
Carman's Nursery – Bonsai Starters, Dwarf, Rare & Unusual Plants
One of my nursery buddies helping hold things together
Carman’s Nursery, located in Gilroy, California, is a small, third generation family owned nursery specializing in rare and unusual plants, such as bonsai starters, dwarf conifers, herbs, rock garden plants, unusual perennials, and less common fruiting plants, including capers, named varieties of fig, kiwi, and pomegranate. We also have a wide variety of variegated plants, collections of Rhodohypoxis and miniature ivies, hardy succulents, as well as many plants suitable for the backyard garden railroad enthusiast.
Carman’s Nursery continues to propagate most of our own plants. As we are a small nursery, we are able to give you, our customers, personal attention toward finding or discovering what you need in our specialized selection of plants, as well as the proper planting and care for the plants.
Hello all you Plant Lovers,
I hope that being around plants has been a buffer for you somehow, from all the craziness that has come at us since the beginning of 2020. A dear friend just wrote, “Plants keep me sane and happy” and I have to echo her sentiments. Whether you are new to gardening and are grateful that you haven’t killed that new houseplant or have been involved in the plant world all your life and have finally managed to get some persnickety bulb to bloom, it’s a great diversion to focus on plants in one form or another.I’ve missed seeing all of you at the bonsai sales, garden shows & tours and plant events that have been cancelled for the last 22 months. I have three events scheduled (see my new calendar dates!) and I hope that many more of my usual events will be coming back soon.
I’ve continued to sow seed, make divisions, take cuttings and acquire new plants during my extra time at home. This fall I did a lot of conifer cuttings, if all goes well I’ll have new varieties available later in the spring or early summer. I had a very successful crop of caper seedlings germinate, so I have a good supply of baby caper plants for the first time in ages. If you’ve been on my “caper waiting list” and haven’t heard from me directly, perhaps your email or phone number has changed? Please give me a call or send an email.
I’d like to thank all my new customers who found me and visited the nursery during the last two years. I’m delighted to see such a great interest in learning about bonsai. I have a good selection of starter plants (junipers, maples, bald cypress, dwarf pomegranates and more) for you to take home and practice pruning, wiring and shaping into your own vision of a pleasing bonsai.
In addition, I’m continuing to grow the small rock garden-type plants that are suitable for bonsai companion or accent plants and perfect for planting along your garden railroad.But wait! There’s more! I still love growing unusual edibles. I have twenty or more varieties of fig plants for sale, some truly excellent table grapes, some ‘Chico’ kiwis and back in October I potted up some lemon guava seedlings, the so-called “tropical” guava that can be grown successfully in most of the Bay Area if given a warm spot in the garden. So if you’ve been longing to grow the ‘Panache’ fig (the one that has striped fruit) I’ve got some ready to sell right now. Come get one before they’re all gone!
So, next time you’re ready for a quiet day in the country, drive on down, over or up to Gilroy ‘most any Thursday, Friday or Sunday (call to make sure I’m here and not at a special market) and visit the nursery. I’ll be happy to give you the grand tour or let you explore at your leisure. Remember, I’m just across town from the outlets, but in a whole different world of shopping.
Cheers,
~Nancy
P.S. Please bring cash or a checkbook in case I still cannot accept credit cards. I’m working on this!
NLS
Shows & Sales...
See our Calendar page for more details.
More Articles are Up!
See our Articles page for more archived articles we have uploaded. Stay tuned for more!
Visitors to the nursery
Nursery Hours
We are open Thursday, Friday, and Sunday from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM. (4:30 PM or sunset from October through March)
We are closed on major holidays.
However, if you are driving from some distance, please call first to confirm. Occasionally during the year we close the nursery in order to participate in various garden shows. See our Calendar for our current schedule.
Directions to our Nursery
New! See our map and three route directions on our Find Us page!
More Coming Soon
My very patient webmaster is dragging me kicking and screaming into the 20th century (let alone the 21st!). Future plans for this website will be to have pictures and plant lists and all sorts of delights for plant lovers. In the meantime you can or call (408) 847-2313 during normal business hours.
We look forward to hearing from and serving you!
