Hardin’s Nursery & Landscaping

The roses are beautiful! And overwhelming! I LOVE roses and have always wanted some rose bushes in our yard. I had roses when I lived in Minnesota but the few I’ve had in Florida do not live very long. I drive by this place almost every other day so today (a Saturday) when we needed to add some plants to our front yard I suggested stopping at Hardin’s Nursery looking for some roses. According to my online research (and previous reviews) you should get varieties that are specific to Florida. I’ve also heard something about «grafted roses» & I think Hardin’s may have them…
We pulled in and started to walk around. Remember, I know nothing about this place other than seeing it from the road. I think you may need an appointment because at first I didn’t see anyone around to ask questions but when another customer pulled up and got out of her car someone came out of a little building. She walked right over to her and they walked into the building without saying anything to us. We were only about 10 feet from them.
Sean and I walked around for a while longer looking at all the roses. I found one that reminded me of Alice in Wonderland «Painting the roses red.» It was red & white and super awesome (I wish I had taken a picture of it). But we kept telling each other how much we don’t know anything about roses. There was no one to ask questions and I felt like an idiot, unnerved, and completely over my head… not liking that feeling I had to leave. So we left before we could find out anything about the beautiful flowers & without speaking to anyone at the nursery. So my longing for rose bushes will continue. Maybe next time I will call ahead for an appointment… or more likely I will research online and order a rose bush online… sigh. Or even most likely I will submit to Sean’s love of weirdly colored plants without flowers.

The selection of roses at this place is amazing! I’ve seen nothing of the sort in Tampa. Short of going to wholesaler or distribution source, this is your best bet. The price for roses more than big box stores of course (~$ 25 at the time of writing), but it is well worth it in my opinion. Most of the roses (except of the OGRs) are grafted onto fortuniana rootstock, which is a plus for planting in warm regions with high nematodes. The roses are generally well cared for and well labeled. Just walking around the place though was a treat. There are so many different roses of different colors and fragrances. The staff here is unbelievably friendly, down to earth, and helpful. The dog is also very cute and adds fluffiness to the scenery. I left the place with a Double Delight and plenty of knowledge on how to keep it healthy. The main downside this is place has is that it’s only open Saturdays and is a little out of the way if you live anywhere away from downtown.

If you are crazy like me and want roses in your Florida garden, this is the place to go. Yes, you will pay more for a rose plant than you would at Home Depot or Walmart, but these roses will actually flourish in Florida. Hardin’s has a huge selection of beautiful roses, and they have all the fertilizer and antifungal spray you can want. They’ll also teach you how to plant and maintain your rose garden. Those tips work. My roses are still going strong a year after my first attempt at rose gardening, and now I’ve gone back to boost up the color load in my front yard.
They are only open on Saturdays, so plan accordingly.