Memorial Service for Fern

In Loving Memory of Fern: A Whiskered Wanderer, our Beloved Cat of Barton Springs Nursery

With profound sorrow, we announce the untimely departure of Fern, our beloved feline friend at Barton Springs Nursery. Fern, whose zest for life brought joy to both staff and guests, passed away on the night of December 5th.

We will be having a Memorial Service in honor of Fern. Please join us on Thursday, December 14th for a gathering at the nursery. 4:00. Everyone is welcome. 

One morning during the team huddle, a black puff ball with only a stub of a tail appeared and would not leave our sides. From that day Fern showed up, he became an integral part of our family, filling our days with warmth, laughter, and companionship. Fern endeared himself to all with gentle purrs and affection. He had a remarkable knack for offering solace when needed. Greg, inseparable from Fern, took him home each night in a cat backpack, bringing him back to the nursery each morning for over two years. As Fern grew older, he became more reluctant to go home. Eventually, Fern chose to stay full-time at the nursery, reveling in nightly adventures with wildlife friends and daytime naps in the shop.

Beyond his role as a resident nursery cat, Fern became a symbol of freedom and living life to the fullest. His untimely passing leaves a void, yet his spirited presence will forever linger in our hearts.

As we mourn Fern's loss, let us celebrate the joy he generously shared. May his memory resonate in the grounds he playfully explored, and may the love he freely gave continue to echo in our hearts.

Rest in peace, dear Fern. You will be deeply missed.

With heartfelt condolences,

The Barton Springs Nursery Family

NPR PODCAST Features Barton Springs Nursery

We’re excited that the story of Barton Springs Nursery is shared by Jennifer Jewell for the NPR Podcast, Cultivating Place. Amy Hovis and William Glenn talk about what makes our independent nursery so special: our history, our philosophy, our team, and why we do the work that we do. Please give it a listen.

Summer Arrivals

It's Summer!

Hey y'all! After a wild and hectic spring, things have calmed down enough to get back to sending out updates about what we're getting in. Despite the crazy hot weather, we've still got some great stuff.

Brand-New Yaupon Hollies

Last week, we got our second batch of two extremely exciting, never before seen yaupon holly cultivars!

'Skyline' (7g, $100) is an upright, fastigiate holly with a similar growth habit to 'Will Fleming' and 'Scarlet's Peak' that was specifically chosen for its resistance to "flopping" and splaying open as those cultivars are prone to do with age. You can easily feel the difference in branch strength between them, so we think this one has a lot of promise! Sadly, this one is male and won't make berries, but that also helps it hold its shape better.

'Skyward' (15g, $180) is another upright cultivar, but this one has a wider, pyramidal habit to about 15' tall by 6'-8' wide. This should be an excellent new screening plant for our area as it's narrower than wild-type yaupons are. This one is also a male.

Unusual Natives

We've got some rather rare natives in stock at the moment that aren't seen much in cultivation, but make worthy garden subjects.

Bear's Foot (Smallanthus uvedalia) - 2g, $20 - This large, shrubby shade perennial has large leaves and gets yellow, daisy-like flowers in the fall. It gets 3-6' tall and grows best along the edges of moist woodlands. Central Texas is at the very southwestern end of its range, so it appreciates afternoon shade and some extra water.

Texas Bractspike (Yeatesia platystegia) - 2g, $19 - This wonderful little perennial gets about a foot tall and works well in low-water settings in sun to light shade. The blooms look quite similar to shrimp plants, but they're green with pale pink flowers sticking out of them. Even though it only grows in a small area of the state, it's seemed pretty adaptable so far. We'll also have other sizes later this year.

As always, let us know if you have any feedback! Because of how busy we were this spring, we didn't have an opportunity to send one out for a while, so we'd really appreciate any feedback!