Carman's Nursery – Bonsai Starters, Dwarf, Rare & Unusual Plants

Ed's Blue Dragon, photo by Paul Turner

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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.

Happy May Day to one and all!

May first used to be one of my favorite days of the year. It was a special secret between me and Mom. In kindergarten I learned about putting a May Day bouquet on the doorstep, ringing the doorbell, and running away to hide and watch the surprise and pleasure of the recipient. This so caught my fancy that I continued to raid Dad’s nursery for a bouquet on the first of May for the next forty years. Try it yourself this year—see how much fun it is to surprise someone with a simple, ‘home-made’ bouquet.

Spring is definitely here, and to join in with the excitement of the season, we’re having an open house here at the nursery. It’s a celebration of the 75th anniversary of Carman’s Nursery. It was 1937 when my grandfather, Hugh Carman started the nursery on Bascom Avenue at Union. In 1971 my parents, Ed & Jean Carman moved the nursery to Mozart Avenue, only a few miles away from the original location. It was a 30 mile move to Pharmer Road in Gilroy for the “Third Generation—Third Location” in 2005.

So—you are cordially invited to visit us on Sunday, May 6th and share some homemade cookies and lemonade. I’ll bring out some old nursery memorabilia & artifacts (anyone remember the old can-cutters?) to illustrate some of the changes in the nursery industry in the last 75 years! Please carpool, parking is very limited on a gravel road.

The Wisteria floribunda ‘Ed’s Blue Dragon’ plants are here! I’ve potted them up, and they are starting to grow. I don’t think they’ll be quite ready by May 6th, but it shouldn’t take too long before you can have one of the first available in California. Reserve yours now! See our Articles page for the June 2011 article on Ed's Blue Dragon.

Don’t worry if you’re busy on May 6th. Carman’s Nursery will be ‘On the Road Again’ this spring. Stop by and say “Hi” if you go to the Gamble Garden Spring Tour. My Farmers’ Market Saturdays begin on May 12th in Morgan Hill, again this year I’ll alternate with the Saratoga market. And don’t forget to watch for a PopUp Plant Stars event near you—Common Ground, Los Altos Garden Club…you never know where you’ll see us next!

Then, when 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!

New! P.S. Our Open House was wonderful and packed—thank you all for coming!
Check out the article on our 75th Anniversary Open House by San Jose Mercury News!

Cheers,
~Nancy

Shows & Sales...

Announcing our next PopUp Plant Stars (PuPS) location!
Common Ground, Palo Alto, May 26!

A portion of our proceeds will go to Common Grounds.
See our Calendar page for more information.

Stay tuned for our Farmer's Market schedule, coming soon!

Visitors to the nursery

Nursery Hours

We are open Thursday, Friday, and Sunday from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
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. On Saturdays during the spring and summer you can find us at several Farmer’s Markets, including Saratoga and Morgan Hill. 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!