Green Planters recently opened a seasonal retail location on Route 17, about a mile north of Gloucester Court House.

Kenny Weakland, grower and retail manager, said that site has been used for about 20 years to support the main Green Planters store at Hayes and as a base of operations for the company’s maintenance and landscaping crews. Now, customers can come to this second location to purchase plants, mulch and other items.

Future plans call for the new retail operation to have a permanent store in the next few years, Weakland said.

The Gloucester location has three heated greenhouses, which grow an assortment of vegetables, herbs, shrubs and trees. Among some of the new items are heirloom tomatoes, varieties that are open-pollinated.

While the Hayes store is open year-round, the Gloucester retail location will operate on a seasonal basis with limited hours. The main store which has one greenhouse sells a variety of fresh plants, Weakland said, as well as gifts and statuary.

Because of space limitations, the main store does not sell a lot of soils and mulch—which the Gloucester location has in abundance. The Gloucester location also is the staging area for the company’s large landscaping and lawn maintenance business, Weakland said.

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