By Donna Thornton/News Editor
The folks at Pack’s Nursery and Garden Center are as ready as anyone for this winter weather to end.
The staff had the added task of covering and bringing in spring plants in preparation for a mid-April freeze – at a time when they’d much rather be preparing customers to be putting those plants and flowers in the ground.
“I think this is going to be it,” owner Chris Pack said of the cold snap. “After this I think people should be able to plant.”
Pack’s has plenty for anyone ready to plant: from Japanese maple trees to a wide variety of Encore azaleas that have already begun to bloom and Knockout roses (that are not quite ready to bloom), there should be something at Pack’s to tickle every green thumb in the Gadsden area, even if you can’t see it from the street.
The road frontage is limited at the business on Rainbow Drive, but the property – and the plants, pottery, statuary and gardening supplies stretch behind the neighboring gas station, providing plenty of room to stock all kind of plants, shrubs and trees.
The Pack family has been in the nursery business since 1968 with a location near Boaz. The Rainbow Drive store opened more recently.
“If we haven’t learned something about what we’re doing since then I don’t know when we will,” he joked.
Pack said the garden center staff is ready to put those years of experience to work for their customers, offering advice if it is needed about the best plants and the best ways of planting.
Pack’s offers a wide variety of pottery, statuary and ornamental pieces for gardens and lawns, along with hanging plants and some vegetables for home gardeners.
The most popular pottery, he said, is the large concrete pots with an acid finish that gives the pots the look of rusted metal.
Pack said he also has a supply of elephant and eagle statuary of all sizes, perfect for the gardens of Alabama and Auburn football fans.
Customers can bring their pots or window boxes to Pack’s, Chris Pack said, pick out the plants they want and arrange with Pack’s staff to do the potting.