Washington Township Nursery is Home to Thousands of Plants

Nestled between the light at and lies the family gardening store . This three-acre plot of land is host to hundreds, if not thousands of different plants.

Before Mike Duffy moved his store to this piece of land, he opened Stone Mill Garden Nursery in Midland Park. He ran the store there for 20 years, before moving to the Washington Township location in 2002.

“I was in the landscaping business for many, many years and wanted to just branch into something similar that would work together with landscaping,” Duffy said.

After renting the Midland Park location, he decided to buy the three-acre plot of land in the township eight years ago. Now he can run both his landscaping and nursery business from one location.

“I like this location because it’s been a nursery since the 1940s,” Duffy said. “The Midland Park property was very small and here we almost have three acres of property with a lot of different stuff on it.”

Stone Mill can now cover many different aspects of gardening, Duffy said. He now has the space to grow his own perennials and make his own mulch right at his nursery.

“I like planting the perennials that come back every year,” he said. “But you have to have a lot of different things because they’re usually only in bloom like four to six weeks.”

Duffy said a lot of work goes into gardening and keeping a nursery open. He and his employees, including his two children, do a lot of watering and taking care of plants, especially in the peak flower season.

March, April and May are the most crucial months to nursery owners. They put in long, gruelling hours to keep their plants in top condition.

“We’re open from 8 in the morning until 6 o’clock at night,” Duffy said. “But I’m personally here from 6 o’clock in the morning until 8 o’clock at night.”

When July 4 hits, the flower business dies down a little and Duffy is able to take some time off.

“We’re really busy nine months out of the year,” Duffy said. “Usually January, February and March we’re off so we can do what we want to do, but the rest of the year we’re here pretty much seven days a week working.”

But he still loves those summer months more than the winter season. It’s more about the flowers and less about snowplowing, he said. The winter months are spent snowplowing since the garden center is closed.

“We kind of keep busy all year long,” he said.

Stone Mill Garden Nursery has a strong customer following, but Duffy also sees a lot of new faces each summer.

“A lot of people are really into gardening,” he said.

Being so close to the high school also brings the nursery customers.

“In the morning the traffic is very backed up both ways when the school is open,” Duffy explained. “People are usually looking in a lot so if they see something they like they’ll probably come back for it.”

In addition to plants, Duffy sells fertilizers, grass seeds, tools, hoses, sprinklers and other gardening equipment in his shop.

Come to Stone Mill Garden Nursery for your flower or landscaping needs at 769 Ridgewood Road in Washington Township.