ORIGIN:
James Dickinson started Surry Gardens in 1976, displaying perennials along his driveway, and selling plants from his root cellar. The owner to this day, Surry Gardens now encompasses five acres.
CONCEPT:
Surry Gardens sells a wide selection of perennials, house plants, trees, shrubs, and annuals, with an eye towards selling varieties that are uncommonly found. Landscaping services, advice, garden tools, and amendments are also available, making Surry Gardens a one stop shop experience for residents of mid-coastal Maine.
EXPERIENCE:
Those who have followed my earlier reviews will know I am a frequent garden center visitor, and do travel up and down western Connecticut in order to access uncommonly seen varieties of plants and shrubs. Surry Gardens is always on my destination wish list when vacationing in Maine because of the unique collection the owner and employees have curated and cultivated. I'm not alone in doing do, as Martha Stewart, who owns a home in the region, periodically pens reference to her own Surry Garden visits and uncommon finds. I myself can report here that during my last visit I was happy to bring "Marmalade" and "Tomato Soup" coneflowers into my perennial garden!
YELP * COMMENT:
My experience has not been anything but positive, and I am bewildered by the high percentage of negative reviews posted by folks without history of submitting any other reviews -- neither before nor since. (Before I reviewed 50% rated low). Yelp usually flags these as questionable.
TIPS:
Customers of Surry Gardens receive "Green Stamps" for their purchases, which can be applied towards designated "Green Card" items at the the end of the growing season.
Mid-summer sales also allow frugal and patient customers to acquire plants at discounted prices, with additional discounts through coupons found in local Ellsworth American newspaper (example attached).
Since 1976 James Dickinson has prepared and distributed catalogs each season. Now also digitally available on the gardens' website, the catalog helps customers plan or dream based on what is readily available.
Coordinating a visit with neighboring Pugnuts for ice cream may make the excursion more agreeable to fellow travelers when, in your mind, you are within a reasonable drive to Surry Gardens! read more