Aviary at Barton Springs Nursery, Austin

M. Sinclair Stevens over at Zanthan Gardens was just asking what everyone’s favorite nursery hangouts are. Like Stevens, I go to Barton Springs Nursery most often, even though a perfectly decent nursery, the newly updated Shoal Creek Nursery, is literally right down the street from my home. However, BSN is a longtime favorite of mine because of its friendly and knowledgeable staff, excellent selection of native plants, garden accessories ranging from funky to gorgeous, and lush (if modestly designed) gardens, which include, yes, chickens. (Amy and Michele, take note!)

Not just chickens, but parakeets too. Housed in this sturdy cedar aviary, the parakeets keep to the top and the chickens keep to the bottom, and everyone seems pretty happy about the arrangement. I’ve never wanted to keep chickens, or parakeets for that matter, but every time I visit BSN I think what fun it would be to have one of these in the back yard. I don’t imagine the neighbors would be thrilled, but the kids would love it. And we could feed them chile pequin peppers from our own garden, without having to resort to stealing from Zilker Gardens (see previous rant).

My second-favorite nursery is the Natural Gardener out in Oak Hill. If you avoid rush hour, the drive isn’t bad, and of course there are even more chickens there, along with donkeys, a huge tepee, a labyrinth with Buddhist statuary, a circular herb garden, a stunning butterfly garden . . . well, the list goes on. I plan to take my camera the next time I visit.

Longtime local favorite Howard’s Nursery has just closed shop, as has Heronswood in Washington—unknown to me until bloggers bemoaned its demise, but their point is well taken. Enjoy your favorite local nurseries while you can because you never know when they may vanish.