The scene was more consistent with a political rally than a gardening exhibit. On hand for opening ceremonies at East Coast Garden Center were Sen. George Bunting, D-Bethany Beach; Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach; and Delaware’s grand dame herself, Gov. Ruth Ann Minner.

However, instead of debating Delaware Department of Transportation projects or election reform, they had come to celebrate the grand opening of East Coast Garden Center’s new container gardening showcase in Millsboro Friday, March 23.

The container showcase is meant to show off the center’s many styles of container plants. Container plants are so named because instead of being grown in the ground, they are grown exclusively in flowerpots or other containers. The center grows the plants in a greenhouse directly behind the showcase room.

East Coast Garden Center is located on a 10-acre lot off Route 24 and offers a wide variety of plant and gardening services.

“We have several different departments. We have the landscaping department, lawn care, maintenance, irrigation,” said Valery Cordrey, owner of East Coast Garden Center. “I’m in charge of the retail area and then we’re growers. We wholesale and we retail, so landscapers come out here and purchase.”

Cordrey said the center can design landscapes there or can have their landscaping department go to the client.

In addition to the 10-acre property, the center also has 65 greenhouses and two retail centers. The grounds are now stocked with more than 160 perennials and 400 annuals, hundreds of trees and shrubs, as well as grasses, orchids and tropical plants.

Cordrey said every year there is a new “hot” plant and this year’s model is the knockout rose, a low-maintenance plant that is disease resistant and grows nonstop from April through December.

“It’s a shrub rose, but it has beautiful color and low, low maintenance,” Cordrey said.

Originally, the land where the center is now located was a chicken farm. Cordrey’s husband was involved in ornamentals, plants grown primarily for their aesthetic value instead of commercial applications. The Cordreys started the center 15 years ago as a wholesale growing and landscaping business but has since evolved to its present incarnation.

For more information on East Coast Garden Center, call 945-3489, the main office at 945-5853 or visit it at 30366 Cordrey Road in Millsboro.

source : www.capegazette.com By Ryan Mavity