After this month’s grand opening of the third Cornelius Nursery in the Houston area, I think it’s about time we did a GardenLine Friday Profile on them. And this is sort of a full-circle story for me, the radio show and Cornelius.
When I first came back to Houston to take over GardenLine hosting duties from the legendary Bill Zak, there were three Cornelius locations, all owned by the Cornelius family. And how cool was it for me to meet Sterling Cornelius himself? I grew up in Walnut Bend, the same subdivision where the Cornelius family lived. We all knew his residence because his landscaping was always top notch. He also blew everyone away with his Christmas decorating, highlighted by enormous holiday bells hanging from all his trees.
I did a lot of landscape and lawn maintenance for Mrs. Bailey, my sixth-grade teacher, who lived at the end of Mr. C’s street. I also saw his well-maintained landscape every time I visited my friend, Nancy Beckham, who lived right across the street. So, from about 1976, I was greatly influenced by Sterling Cornelius.
In 1996, my first year as host of GardenLine, I found myself doing endorsements for Cornelius, which of course required a meet-and-greet with the man himself. We shared some old Walnut Bend stories, and I was just beaming, knowing that I would now be speaking on behalf of the place my folks and I visited nearly every other weekend during the spring and summer. That would be the location that was once on Dairy Ashford, just south of the Katy Freeway. Frankly, I knew nothing about plants and soils back in the late ‘70s. I was just child labor who carried all the plants and bags of mulch my mother wanted.
Sadly, Mr. C. passed away about six years later, and unfortunately none of his family wanted much to do with running nurseries. That’s when Calloway’s, a company that owns and operates several Dallas-area nurseries, purchased the Cornelius stores on Voss and Dairy Ashford. A location on FM 1960 shuttered after a devastating fire, and the Dairy Ashford location would eventually be sold for its valuable real estate.
For a couple of years, I did no endorsements for the remaining store on Voss. But, eventually, Calloway’s figured out that they needed a presence again on GardenLine, so they were back on the air with us. Then, about a year ago, I got super excited when they opened a brand-new Cornelius store in Katy. And my GardenLine Spidey senses were raised again when I learned last month that they were opening another new location in Sugar Land. That one is officially open as of today.
If you pull up the Cornelius website, you will see a statement that I believe perfectly describes Cornelius in a nutshell, and why everyone should do garden shopping with them.
As the premier nursery of record for over 75 years, Cornelius has provided the people of Houston, Katy, & Sugar Land with the plants and expertise they need to create peaceful, beautiful gardens. We pride ourselves on the quality of our selections, our unmatched level of service and our extensive knowledge of flora that all come together to give you the best start on your gardening journey.
And they really do pride themselves on the best quality, selections of unusual plants, and premium garden goods - I have seen it for myself. They offer exceptional customer service, unlike most big-box store nurseries, and are always staffed with folks who have tons of expertise and knowledge. Most mass merchandisers simply have people running cash registers.
Now, you may not see the fertilizers and soils I endorse at these stores, but I can assure you that their private-label products meet the standards of my fertilization schedule. For example, you may not see Nitro-Phos Super Turf 19-4-10, but they carry their own 21-5-10, which is perfectly aligned with the ratios called for in my schedule.
Here are your Houston-area locations:
- 2233 South Voss Road (Between San Felipe and Westheimer)
- 1403 Westborough Drive, Katy (Just north of Interstate 10, between Fry and Greenhouse roads)
- 6720 Highway. 90-A, Sugar Land (Just west of Highway 6)