Our Story
Bill Copenhaver (Yours truly) began his horticulture career as a landscape designer/contractor in the early 1980s, and eventually began growing some standard landscape plants for his own jobs. Eventually, in 2010 he segued (fully immersed himself) into the wondrous & colorful world of Florida Friendly & Native flowering plants, perennials & more, greatly enhancing the plant pallet of colors, textures, and shapes at the Nursery. At this point, Grassroots Nursery opened to the public.
Grassroots Nursery's reputation is steeped in the cultivation of unique, premium quality Homegrown Plant Products that are reasonably priced. To complement our beautiful and healthy plants, you can be assured our staff/family are friendly, engaging, and knowledgeable…and prefer to not sell you a Plant unless we know that it truly suits your needs. Bill also offers on site consultations at your home or business property. He can assist with resolving garden issues, make suggestions for tweaking garden/landscape designs, or even scaled designs for new gardens/landscapes. Also, installations are available certain times of the year as our schedule permits.
We also have an intriguing selection of ceramic pottery and other whimsical items, and for Halloween, we traditionally offer our various sizes of ceramic jack-o’-lanterns, ranging from small tabletop items to a much larger pumpkin Chimenea on a metal stand. A candle inside illuminates the face at night.
Aside from browsing all of our beautiful plants at the Nursery, make yourself at home, browse through our selections at your own pace, and take a break, chilling out in a chair under our open-air customer shelter with a complimentary cold bottle of water while taking in the beauty of the Nursery’s natural environment, anchored by several 200+-year-old live oaks that grace the perimeter of the property.
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Meet The Owner
I’ve been working in the field of horticulture since 1983. Beginning as a Landscape/Irrigation Designer, contractor by the name of LanDesign Landscapes, Inc. As my passion for plants expanded, I sequed into developing a wholesale/retail nursery by the name of Grassroots Nursery, on the eastern perimeter of Gainesville. Initially my focus for the nursery aimed at the wholesale market, but eventually expanded to include the retail market. Although we still maintain a wholesale focus, over the last 14 years we have developed a strong retail customer base at the Nursery as well as at the Alachua County Farmers Market in Gainesville, and various weekend Garden Events, such as the Spring & Fall Garden Festivals at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens. Some of the other events are in cities from St. Augustine to Orlando.
Anyway, after these four decades of immersion in the world of horticulture, I now enjoy applying my accumulated bevy of experiences in such a way that hopefully translates to enriching your experiences in the world of gardening....be it by finding the right flowering perennials/pollinators, shrubs, trees etc. for your new or established gardens, patio/porch containers, interior foliage, or just troubleshooting issues in your yard through an on site consultation , or even designing a new garden or landcape for you.
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Bill Copenhaver
225 SE 135th Terrace, Gainesville, FL, 32641 352.215.7226