A visit to Alpine Nursery

Alpine Nursery's sign says, "Beauty is our Business" and there is a lot of beauty to be discovered inside this full-service garden center located in the South Hill area of Puyallup. 

One of my favorite installations in the nursery is this patio with two huge pots that drip water. 

There are many gorgeous water features throughout the nursery.

And this large koi pond inside The Pond Pad, a pond supply business located on Alpine's grounds, that carries a large selection of water plants, water garden supplies, and fish.

Alpine carries an impressive selection of maples and was one of the first nurseries in the area to have Acer pseudoplantanus 'Esk Sunset' aka 'Eskimo Sunset' which has become one of my favoiite foliage plants!

 Other specialties include berberis

 and conifers ( pictures show only a small fraction of their offerings)

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I love the cones of Abes koreana which appear on even very young specimens.

There is a large perennial section as well.  Here are some of the treasures from inside the greenhouse.

This one came home with me.  Supposedly hardy to zone 8, it will still come inside my unheated plant room for the winter.

I was sorely tempted to get one of these!

I don't remember seeing bonsai here in previous years; they've got some beauties! 

 Clever birdbath!

I laughed out loud at this lovely cross surrounded by crocosmia 'Lucifer'  hmmm...

Alpine is a fun nursery with a friendly, knowledgeable staff who are always on the lookout for something new.  Although it's a large full service garden center, it feels and shops more like a smaller specialty place; maybe because of the personable staff and clever layout.   I always find  treasures here!  Chek out their website or better yet, visit the nursery.  If you're a plant person, you'll find it difficult to leave empty-handed!