When you go to most plant nurseries, you go with the idea of staying just long enough to select the plants and flowers you want for your house or garden. It’s safe to say that most of us don’t think of a nursery as a tourist attraction.
Then there’s Wilson Plant Co here in the Capital City. With all it has to offer, you could easily spend half a day here – or longer.
Jennifer Wilson, the visionary behind Wilson Plant Co, has run the business, along with her daughters Mary Catherine and Ella, since 2004.
Under the stewardship of the three plant-savvy Wilson ladies, the nursery has….pardon the pun…..blossomed.
For starters, there’s the commercial space, which has an inventory of more than 10,000 plant varieties – from the commonplace (rose bushes, chrysanthemums and hydrangeas) to the rare or exotic (philodendrons, anthuriums and cacti/succulents).
All are attractively showcased alongside plant and garden-related products ranging from flower-scented soaps to coffee table books on Kentucky’s great gardens.
A word of warning – first-time visitors might want to put off making their purchases until the end of their stay, as they have a lot of exploring to do, and it’s more easily done if you’re not lugging a 15-pound bag of mulch or an even heavier concrete garden urn.
Most head directly to the Butterfly Greenhouse, home to the colorful insects from May through October.
Native Kentucky butterflies – including monarchs; Zebra, Pipevine, Eastern Tiger, black and Spicebush swallowtails; common Buckeyes; painted ladies; Eastern commas and Luna moths – fly freely, adding pops of color to the greenery.
The two-acre butterfly palace and surrounding garden, the largest of its kind in Kentucky, is also home to some 50 plants specially selected to attract and feed butterflies in their habitat.
Throughout the six-month season, some 5,000 beautiful butterflies will call the greenhouse home.
Tickets to the butterfly habitat are $10 and can be purchased online at https://www.thebutterflygreenhouse.com/.
At the end of the season, the public is invited to a tag and release party to send the monarchs off on their annual migration to Mexico.
Jennifer says the party is one of their most popular events as 200 butterfly enthusiasts will gather at the greenhouse.
“They come to watch their very own tagged monarch take flight on its migration journey as part of the monarchwatch.org conservation citizen scientist program,” she says.
Once the butterflies leave, the spiders move in, as the greenhouse transforms into a spider house and pumpkin village for the month of October.
Exiting the Butterly Greenhouse, you’ll see a compact space filled with all manner of intriguing structures. Welcome to Lola Children’s Garden, guaranteed to burn off excess energy generated by even the most active child.
Jennifer stresses that this isn’t a typical children’s garden with rides and storybook characters; instead, it is intended as an outdoor classroom connecting children with the natural flora and fauna and teaching them how to safely interact with the natural world.
The focal point is the large playhouse surrounded by plants, but the garden also has features such as a mini farmer’s market, artist’s loft for coloring and painting; fairy ring and a “nest,” a quiet place for children to read.
“We even have a dirty play area where they can make mud pies,” says Jennifer.
The garden is named for the Wilsons’ beloved Weimaraner, who lived to be 17 and spent every day of her life on the grounds.”
“Lola loved children,” says Jennifer, “so it seemed fitting to name the garden in her honor.”
There will soon be a third feature to attract visitors interested in more than purchasing a plant. The botanical trail, evolving from Jennifer’s love of garden design, nature and biology, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2024.
The trail, at just under a mile, will wind through a densely wooded wetland area, taking hikers on a tour of native flora.
“Right now, we’re busy removing invasive species such as honeysuckle, winter creeper and multiflora rose,” says Jennifer, who stresses that this botanical trail will focus strictly on species native to the commonwealth.
If you work up an appetite while exploring the 20-acre grounds, you don’t have to go far to satisfy it.
Wilson’s Sage Garden Café is just the ticket – the perfect place to enjoy garden-to- table cuisine in a casual atmosphere. Open Monday through Friday for breakfast and lunch, and weekends for brunch, the café also has a full-service coffee and cocktail bar.
Sage Cafe is located on the site of the original garden center, surrounded by beds of vegetables and herbs that diners enjoy in their soups and salads.
The interior manages to be both rustic and contemporary, but you may prefer a table on the outdoor patio with its view of the gardens – particularly if you have your canine companion in tow. Dogs are always welcome on the patio.
As far as the menu is concerned, paninis are a favorite here, especially the Hot Brown Panini, the café’s take on the classic Kentucky dish, although the Bourbon Smokehouse Burger has its devoted fans as well.
Perhaps you would prefer a sandwich. How about the smokin’ gaminator club (smoked turkey and cherrywood bacon with leaf lettuce, tomato and avocado on homemade sourdough bread)?
Or maybe the cranberry chicken salad – the café’s signature chicken salad with sprouts and leaf lettuce on homemade oatmeal walnut bread.
Whatever you choose as your main, start off with an appetizer – local’s deviled eggs or a cup of one of their soups, made in house daily.
And you absolutely can’t leave without one of the Sage Garden Café’s signature desserts.
By far, the most popular, says Jennifer, is their house-made Buffalo Trace Bourbon Bread Pudding, although two cakes provided by Midway Bakery – Hummingbird and Carrot Cake – also get high marks. Go ahead and order one of the desserts. No guilt – you can always head back to the gardens and walk off the calories. Oh, and don’t forget to pick up your purchase on your way out.