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As a teenager Stacey Stecher traveled around Colorado collecting wild seeds for a wholesale nursery she worked at in Brighton.
“That's how I got into native plants,” Stecher said.
Little Valley Wholesale Nursery is also where she met her future husband, Tony Urschitz.
“He was my first boss, and my last,” Stecher said with a grin.
They eventually moved to Grand Junction, and in 1992 started Chelsea Nursery, specializing in native and xeric plants. They first sold plants they grew on a rented lot in Grand Junction.
After Stecher earned a biology degree with an emphasis in botany from Mesa State College, the couple bought the 25-acre property at 3347 G Road, where they start from seed, and some cuttings, the majority of the potted plants they sell.
“It's the plants that belong here,” Stecher said. “They require less water, less energy and less maintenance.”
And they're beautiful.
Which is one reason why the Western Colorado Gardening Foundation honored Chelsea Nursery recently with the 2010 Excellence in Sustainable Horticulture award.
“The nursery is a rare gem among nurseries since they propagate most of their own plants in containers and overwinter them,” said WCGF board president Beverly Duzenack. “Chelsea Nursery proves that these kinds of plants are beautiful as well as sturdy and save on water which is very important in our area.”
Founded in 2002, the nonprofit Western Colorado Gardening Foundation promotes sustainable horticulture on the Western Slope by promoting water resource conservation and sound gardening practices.
Just before the driveway leading into the nursery, there's a huge slab of sandstone mounted on a piece of iron shaped like a stem with petals. Etched on the rock are the words “Chelsea Nursery Native Known.”
Outstanding views of Mt. Garfield and Grand Mesa provide a backdrop for the nursery where more than 500 varieties of desert-loving plants are grown. Stecher estimates they grow 20 varieties of cactuses, and another 20 kinds of succulents. Their two acres of nursery stock also includes a variety of shrubs, flowers, grasses and trees.
Chelsea Nursery is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To view Chelsea's extensive catalog with plant descriptions and photos, visit chelseanursery.com.
“That's how I got into native plants,” Stecher said.
Little Valley Wholesale Nursery is also where she met her future husband, Tony Urschitz.
“He was my first boss, and my last,” Stecher said with a grin.
They eventually moved to Grand Junction, and in 1992 started Chelsea Nursery, specializing in native and xeric plants. They first sold plants they grew on a rented lot in Grand Junction.
After Stecher earned a biology degree with an emphasis in botany from Mesa State College, the couple bought the 25-acre property at 3347 G Road, where they start from seed, and some cuttings, the majority of the potted plants they sell.
“It's the plants that belong here,” Stecher said. “They require less water, less energy and less maintenance.”
And they're beautiful.
Which is one reason why the Western Colorado Gardening Foundation honored Chelsea Nursery recently with the 2010 Excellence in Sustainable Horticulture award.
“The nursery is a rare gem among nurseries since they propagate most of their own plants in containers and overwinter them,” said WCGF board president Beverly Duzenack. “Chelsea Nursery proves that these kinds of plants are beautiful as well as sturdy and save on water which is very important in our area.”
Founded in 2002, the nonprofit Western Colorado Gardening Foundation promotes sustainable horticulture on the Western Slope by promoting water resource conservation and sound gardening practices.
Just before the driveway leading into the nursery, there's a huge slab of sandstone mounted on a piece of iron shaped like a stem with petals. Etched on the rock are the words “Chelsea Nursery Native Known.”
Outstanding views of Mt. Garfield and Grand Mesa provide a backdrop for the nursery where more than 500 varieties of desert-loving plants are grown. Stecher estimates they grow 20 varieties of cactuses, and another 20 kinds of succulents. Their two acres of nursery stock also includes a variety of shrubs, flowers, grasses and trees.
Chelsea Nursery is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To view Chelsea's extensive catalog with plant descriptions and photos, visit chelseanursery.com.
