Jerry and John Mendon, Mendons Nursery - Paradise
( If you are reading this anywhere but my blog, you can find the original post here. )
As a gardener, it is rare that I visit a nursery I don’t like. But frequently, I enjoy different nurseries for different things – one for their perennials, one for their conifers, one for their trees and shrubs, another for their interesting selection of containers and pots, and so forth. Mendons Nursery in Paradise (http://www.mendonsnursery.com/) is one of those nurseries that I find fully satisfying straight across the board. It is a nursery for hands-on, dirty finger-nailed gardeners: it is not too fancy in its main shop where a warm wood-stove greets winter shoppers looking over seeds and soil prep products; it is refined and relaxing in its home and garden gift shop, the Winding Vine; but most importantly, Mendons’ extensive selection of plants rivals that of any nursery, anywhere. Photo above, John and Jerry Mendon in front of one of Jerry’s favorites - a large Sago palm at the nursery.
Jerry Mendon started Mendon’s Nursery in 1973. He, his wife Joanne and their children had relocated to the Northstate from Southern California a few years earlier with the intention of Jerry retiring. Since 1948 Jerry had been working hard in the nursery and plant industry in Southern California, primarily working on big commercial landscaping, specializing in setting large palm trees. In that phase of his career he was responsible for setting such notable palms as the ones at Dodger Stadium and Los Angeles International Airport’s Tower. Jerry’s father had been a banker by trade, but an avid gardener at home, and it is to him that Jerry attributes his gardening gene.
The Mendons chose to retire to Paradise because of its high quality of life and relaxed pace. The chose some acreage with quite a few mature fruit trees, including figs, apples, almonds and persimmons. In their first years living there, the family could not keep up with all the fruit, and they would hang a sign out on the road to sell the excess. Word eventually got around that Jerry was an ex-nurseryman and people would say to him: “You should start a nursery here, we don’t really have a good one.” Joanne suggested to him that he might sell “a few fruit trees”….and the rest is history.
Mendons today is a vast retail nursery carrying almost every plant type you might dream of growing in the Northstate - a partial example as seen in photo at left. Upon entering, tables of bright and cheerful seasonal plants and flowers - including annuals and vegetables this time of year greet you. But this is just the tip - the nursery features a Bonsai collection, a Camellia house, a fern house, an exotic “jungle” greenhouse and two citrus hoop-houses, acres of herbaceous perennials, acres of deciduous and evergreen shrubs and trees, a large selection of palms (still Jerry’s favorite) and an impressive selection of Japanese Maples, which are perhaps Jerry’s son, John’s, favorite plant type.
John was in high school when the family moved to Paradise. He went on to attend Chico State and received his degree in Plant Science. He joined the business full-time in 1979, and is now the primary manager of the business. His wife Sheri and he have seven children aged 26 to 10 who help at the nursery off and on as well. Jerry – still hoping to retire – continues to answer the phones and answer questions as varied as “What should I feed my cannas?” (his answer is “Food is food, I remember when there was only one variety of fertilizer,” to “What apple tree will do best for me in Chico?” Photo at right shows the entrance to two of the Citrus Houses loaded with varieties in Spring. Jerry is a self-proclaimed “curmudgeon” with a deep resonant voice and a straightforward, approachable manner that his son has inherited. They are men who enjoy wearing jeans, flannel shirts and work boots to work. Jerry is proud of Mendons’ reputation for high quality plants and a very knowledgeable and helpful staff. “I was lucky to form relationships with some very good plant reps,” Jerry notes, “And over the years they have sort-of bird-dogged the best suppliers of interesting plants for us.” He clearly enjoys talking gardening with others of like mind and one of his personal causes in life is: “Gardening is a simple pleasure if you get started off on the right foot. Don’t believe all the advertising out there – follow your own instincts and start with a manageable amount. Gardening should be a pleasure – not a task or a burden.” Jerry and John Mendon’s reputation as active and generous members of the Northstate community has grown hand and in hand with the nursery’s.
Jerry and John Mendon would like to see Mendons Nursery continue to serve its loyal clientele with the wide variety of plants (all chosen for ability to thrive in the Northstate) and local gardening knowledge not readily available at more generic home and garden stores. While it has grown in leaps and bounds since its beginning as a “nursery with a few fruit trees” off a small, winding road in Paradise, Mendons has not lost its warm, small-town feel. Not long after I moved to the Northstate, I was talking to a neighbor about gardening, and she said: “Have you been to Mendons? – I’ll take you. I am always up for a field trip to Mendons.” And now so am I. Ask questions when you go – they’re all as likely to know the answer as anyone and they’ll help to get any kind of gardener off to the right start. Photo above left shows the welcoming wood stove in the garden amendment and seed shop.
If like Jerry you are interested in Palms, he suggests that you plant them in partial to full sun and make sure they get enough water to look their best. His recommendations for good varieties in the Northstate include:
Windmill Palm – Trachycarpus fortunei
Mediterranean Fan Palm – Chamaerops humilis
Ornamental Date Palm – Phoenix dactylifera
While Mendons website is more of a gesture toward the world of technology than a truly useful tool yet, the following contact information is really all you need:
Mendon’s Nursery 5424 Foster Road Paradise, CA 95969
Telephone: 530-877-7341 Fax: 530-877-3562
Furthermore, if you have a specific question the following staff members have the following specific areas of expertise (although I have yet to stump any of them on any question). Photo shows Valerie Spencer, 29-year employee, discussing the merits of a particular plant choice with a customer:
Alvin Alison – Store Manager
Valerie Spencer – All around
Kendall Gray – Perennials
Allan Hernandez – Pond and Water (AKA Koi-Whisperer)
Rick Clack – Annuals
Eric Battaglia – Bonsai
Chris Wren – Greenhouse
James Betts, Randy Lollis, & Elfi Encisco – Asst Nurserymen to John Mendon
Gayleen Kinzy – Display