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 Local plant nursery offers more than flowers and fruit trees
By Nick Powell
Just across the Salinas River on a quiet country road, there's a farm with roots that run much deeper than the small plants and saplings that grow there. The Finley Family Nursery is a huge farm that specializes in offering native plants that thrive in the north county, an environment plagued with invading deer, blazing heat, and bursts of rain followed by frequent droughts. The ranch is owned by Bob and Pam Finley, but a newer generation is taking care of business.
"We wanted to get away from raising cattle and do something different that we could pass down to our kids," said Jayme Finley. "The whole family's worked at developing the nursery."
At the Finley nursery, Jayme handles the sales, strolling through the rows of shrubs and trees with the farm's unofficial mascot, a tiny dog named Tilley. Jayme was born and raised in Templeton. After a stint at Cal Poly where she took a degree in nutritional science, Jayme came right back home with her husband and high school sweetheart Chet Finley. They live with their two children in Jayme's mother's house, a historic home built in 1887.
"His family bought the farm and moved to the area in the 70s," said Jayme. "We've known each other since the fifth grade."
With such strong ties to the land, it's no wonder the Finleys are able to offer the products, service, and expertise for which they're known. The nursery boasts an assortment of over 4,000 trees and plants. They offer fruit trees ranging from various apples, apricots, and almonds to Tuscany olives and grapevines with plenty in between. They also feature beautiful shade trees that burst with autumn colors and an assortment of shrubs, flowers, and cacti.
"I just love plants," said Jayme. "It's so rewarding to see something start as a seed and grow into something beautiful."
That process isn't always easy. It takes a lot of dedication and know-how to grow a healthy tree that produces plump, tasty fruits. That's why Jayme regularly updates the nursery's website with tips for every season and a list of links to helpful articles from growers around the world. Whether you're an expert green thumb or a budding gardener, you'll find something helpful at www.finleyfamilynursery.com.
"With plants, it's sometimes trial and error," said Jayme. "You just have to keep trying and have fun with it."
With Jayme's expert advice, her customers get to experience a lot more of the fun with a lot less error.
"The website's extremely helpful," said Marie West, an Atascadero homeowner who recently purchased about two dozen trees from the nursery. "I wouldn't know what I was doing without it."
West raved about the friendly service she received, saying that Jayme spent several hours helping her pick the right combination of trees for her home. She wanted her fruit to ripen on a rotating schedule so that she could avoid drawn out delays between pickings and never be overwhelmed by too much ripe fruit at once. With Jayme's help, she eventually decided on a garden of pears, figs, nectarines, blackberries, and plums that promises to keep her household well stocked in pies and jams for years to come. It's too soon to see how much fruit she'll reap, but West said everything she's gotten from the Finley Family Nursery is thriving and green.
"You definitely get better service when the sales person is the owner," said West. "I never paid any attention to buying local until I moved here, but when you get to know your neighbors, it really starts to matter. When you help them, it helps the community."
Despite the superior service and hearty products, prices at the nursery are competitive with any big box store. Jayme said she's able to keep prices low by growing trees onsite in high volume.
As a licensed contractor, her husband Chet is able to provide full blown landscape renovations, saving you the back breaking work of shoveling dirt for hours on end. Together, the husband and wife team are the perfect duo to completely overhaul the exterior of any home or business.
"If you bring a picture of your property, we'll sit down and design the whole thing with you for free," said Jayme. "That's my favorite part of the job."
Besides plants, the Finley farm also sells compost, gravel, sand, and woodchips. Homemade pieces of lawn art adorn the grounds and can be purchased for your yard as well. There are painted cattle skulls, old fashioned wooden signs that Bob Finley crafts by hand, and a whole menagerie of metal animals welded together from scraps of tin found around the farm.
"We like to reuse whatever we can," said Jayme. "It's nice when you can take something out of the trash heap and turn it into a decoration."
Even if you don't intend to refurbish an entire garden, there are plenty of small plants to choose from, and a simple walk through the nursery can be quite soothing. The property is spotted with ancient, twisted oaks that tower over rolling hills. A picturesque red barn hearkens back to simpler times while cows and sheep graze on the lush green grasses. A roadside pen houses a pair of old goats, emus, and chickens that keep visiting children entertained while their parents pick their way through the plants.
The nursery is located just off of El Pomar Drive at 50 Vaquero Drive. They're open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. You'll know you're there when you see an old Jaguar embedded in the embankment. |
