Growing for Vermont Since 1893

In 1883, botanists Frederick Hinsdale Horsford and Cyrus G. Pringle went into the nursery business together. In 1893, Horsford bought out Pringle and established F. H. Horsford Nursery in Charlotte, Vermont. That history continues on the same nursery grounds. What began with botanists collecting and growing plants has become a place where local gardeners can discover trees, shrubs, perennials and inspiration for their own landscapes.

Charlie Proutt and Eileen Schilling helped return the nursery to its growing roots in the 1980s, expanding the fields, restoring greenhouses and creating the display gardens visitors enjoy today.

Our 40 acres of growing fields are a working part of the nursery. Crabapples and lilacs, oaks and maples are grown here; nearly all of our balled-and-burlapped plants are dug from our own fields. Our crew digs hundreds of plants in the appropriate spring and fall seasons. See a tree or shrub in the fields that would suit your property? Speak with a team member about tagging it and arranging the right digging season. We employ local growers and use integrated and sustainable horticultural practices, with attention to water conservation, pest management, weed control, and cover crops.

Our restored Lord & Burnham glass greenhouses bring a grand growing tradition into the present. Glass and cypress beams from the original Horsford greenhouses connect these special buildings.Inside, we grow annual flowers, kitchen herbs and vegetable plants with beneficial insects and integrated pest management.

Growing is a team effort. Our field crew, greenhouse growers, perennial specialists, garden center staff and delivery team bring practical experience to your gardening questions. Whether you have a plant name in mind or simply a corner of the garden you’d like to improve, come and talk with us.

For more than 40 years, Eileen helped shape Horsford’s into the nursery and garden destination it is today. Her eye for natural beauty lives on in the display gardens, greenhouses and landscapes she tended.