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New Oglethorpe County Nursery Is More Than a Flower Shop

Joe Stevens, owner of Classic City Flowers and Nursery, talks about the many petunia baskets for sale. Credit: Erin France

Joe Stevens is a man with a plan—a lot of plans, actually. The owner of the newly opened Classic City Flowers and Nursery on Double Bridges Road hosted an April grand opening, but if you missed it, don’t worry, he’s got a lot of other events in the pipeline. 

The nursery is a 15-minute drive from downtown Athens and downtown Watkinsville, and well worth the drive to explore the property. Long-time Athens area gardeners will recognize the location as a new incarnation of Wolfskin Growers.

Besides greenhouses full of plants, Stevens also will host Tuesday night karaoke, outfit a rentable tea room, hold beekeeping demonstrations, present live music, offer an event space and generally provide a place for folks who like the outdoors to congregate. “This is not a place to buy plants; this is a destination,” Stevens said. 

But if, like me, you’re there for the plants, there’s plenty to see. The property itself sports some lovely examples of good growing, including a huge peach tree, heavy with fruit, several robust fig trees and an impressive tulip magnolia. Stevens’ favorite is the Japanese maple beside a small man-made pond and stream. 

Stevens bought the property in November after designing self-contained mobile disaster units. Originally, he planned to sell the units to disaster relief workers, survivalists and preppers. “I needed a place to build [the units], and this place was not expensive,” he said. “I came out here and fell in love with the place.”

Stevens comes to his nursery business through circuitous circumstances which include working as a biochemical engineer, earning an MBA from Emory University, leading global marketing efforts for products like Heartguard and heading a development team for pharmaceutical giant Boehringer Ingelheim. 

While Stevens has the business know-how and a love of plants, horticulturist Glenda Duarte brings 28 years of experience in growing for the former Wolfskin Growers. Together with the rest of the small staff, they have offerings well worth checking out. 

The bright, fire-cracker blooms of the flame azalea are available, as are the standards of boxwoods, begonias and marigolds. Butterfly bushes, salvias and many varieties of vinca also are for sale. There’s a selection of Proven Winners (trademarked plant varieties) known for their hardiness and beautiful growth. Hanging petunia baskets come in a whole rainbow of colors and include full-size flowers as well as the delicate and cute mini petunias. If you’re in the market for a Mother’s Day gift, this might be a good bet.

If pre-made baskets aren’t your thing, the nursery sells pots, some made in the Northeast Georgia town of Gillsville, as well as soil and a dedicated potting station to rehome your preferred blooms. This is a great value for folks who have the space for a few porch plants, but not quite the area needed to make the mess that comes with potting up plants. 

Some of the best deals I saw were on citrus, including lemon and lime trees. If you’re considering trying to grow citrus, I highly recommend it. It’s possible in Georgia, with some finangling, to produce Meyer Lemons in December. I managed it after a few years of troubleshooting on my own and then reading Growing Citrus: The Essential Gardener’s Guide by Martin Page. Now, I’ve got a whole collection of citrus from Calamondin Orange, Eureka Lemon and some forgotten variety of lime. 

The nursery’s plant selection comes from Duarte and customer interest, Stevens said. “I’m here to serve the community,” he said. He plans to increase native Georgia plant stock in the following months, especially since folks have asked about it. If you’re stumped in trying to find a particular plant locally, I’d ask Stevens if he might be able to find it. He stocks the nursery from on-site propagations and tries to find local options for most of his inventory, he said.

If you’d like to learn more about Classic City Flowers and Nursery, visit classiccityflowers.com. The nursery will host a Hummingbird Festival on Saturday, May 18 from 9 a.m.–7 p.m. and will include a food truck parked on site, live music and an artists market.

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