Trends and Tips from the Neighborhood Garden

What’s growing at Skegemog Gardens this spring

By Molly Cox | May 9, 2026

Curtis Sherwood comes from a long line of Michiganders with green thumbs. He and his wife bought Skegemog Gardens in Traverse City three years ago from his uncle, who ran the business for 27+ years.

The couple and their children live in Williamsburg on a former Christmas tree farm that was operated by Sherwood’s grandfather until the 1980s. Knowing he would take over the family business, Sherwood sold his painting company to apprentice at Skegemog Gardens with his uncle for several years before taking over the business.

“I feel that we are pretty personal with our customers,” Sherwood says. “They can come here and hang out for hours, and some people don’t even buy anything—[they] just come to check us out and see familiar faces."

Location helps, as Skegemog is tucked between the Traverse Area District Library, The Filling Station Microbrewery, and the TART Trail, so people are always dropping by. 

“We get a lot of folks who wander over from [the brewery] next door and then come back days later because they saw something they wanted while they waited for their dinner,” Sherwood says.

Skegemog Gardens sells everything a new or experienced gardener needs: annuals, perennials, trees, flowers, vegetables, herbs, and even local produce. There are nine employees who work during the season May 1-Dec 24, and the garden center is now up and running.

We spoke with Sherwood about starting a garden, what plants are in demand, and what Skegemog Gardens has to offer this year.

Trend No. 1: Growing Your Own Groceries

With the price of groceries skyrocketing over the last several years, Sherwood says he sees more customers coming in each season with an interest in growing their own food.

The most in-demand vegetable starts are easy to grow staples like tomatoes, squash, corn, and beans. Skegemog Gardens also sells lettuce bowls and herb containers that are perfect for urban gardeners with only patio space.

If you don’t have the time for or interest in gardening but still want high quality, seasonal fruits and veggies, Skegemog has a section dedicated to fresh, ready to eat produce as it becomes available.

“Once everything is growing around here, especially on the peninsula, I get a lot of local farmers’ produce [to sell],” says Sherwood.

Trend No. 2: Native plants becoming more popular

Skegemog also has a selection of native plants like Michigan holly, service berries, native phlox, forsythia, and native blueberry varieties. They are limited by space, so the inventory for in-demand plants can change about every two weeks.

“In the future, I want to do a greenhouse just with native plants out on my farm, because I know a lot of folks love them,” Sherwood says.

Tip No. 1: Buy Now, Plant Soon…ish

Sherwood advises gardeners to buy the plants they want ASAP before Skegemog sells out. However, he recommends you keep delicate starts inside and wait to plant them until after Memorial Day to avoid killing frosts. On the flip side, radishes, beets, and turnips can all be planted relatively early compared to other vegetables.

Here’s his timeline:
- Late spring: Vegetable starts (get your tomatoes!), garden phlox, forsythia bushes, peonies (available at the garden center mid-May)
- Summer: Herbs like rosemary and creeping thyme
- Early fall: pumpkins, spring blooming bulbs, and cool weather blooming flowers like pansies and mums 

Tip No. 2: Do Your Homework

“For a first-time gardener, I would say don’t try to grow the prettiest things, because they’re most likely some of the harder things to grow,” says Sherwood. He advises customers to do a little research before they plant so they are informed about the species they want to grow, because not all plants work for all spaces.

Conveniently, the nearby Traverse Area District Library has a ton of free resources for gardeners, including books, workshops, and even a seed library.

Tip No. 3: Think Long-Term

Sherwood says gardeners should also consider the maintenance and pruning that certain plants require before buying. A flowering bush that looks lovely and is full of blooms when you purchase it can get out of control after several years of neglect or fail to bloom without the right lighting conditions.

“Especially around town, a lot of people need shade plants because there are so many big trees,” Sherwood adds. “We keep a lot of shade perennials in stock.” 

Tip No. 4: Take a Picture

Last but not least, Sherwood recommends bringing photos of your potential planting sites to Skegemog Gardens so the expert staff can help you choose plants that will thrive there. 

“Anything we can do to help with your garden, anything you can’t find, call us and we can help find it and research it with you as best we can,” he says.

Stocking the Greenhouses

Garden centers like Skegemog stock their stores based on sales from past years and begin preparing to open months in advance. Sherwood says he also looks for plants that are new and/or unique each year.

“We’re always getting new hydrangeas in; that’s one of our big sellers,” he says. “As far as annuals go, this year we also found a new grower for lisianthus, which is a really cool flower that’s pretty unique.”

Along with getting the greenhouses and property ready to welcome back customers, Sherwood places orders with 17 different vendors to get the best variety of Michigan-grown plants. Sherwood says they purchase most of their stock from local farmers like Weesies Brothers in Manistee and Mischel’s Greenhouses in Williamsburg, for example. “I try to keep all my employees informed on everything we have [in stock]; it’s a lot to take in,” Sherwood says.

Delivery is an option for shoppers, and Skegemog Gardens staff can recommend companies who will do the planting for you as well. “We have a couple local arborists and landscapers that we point people to. We’re always looking for other, reputable folks to leave their card here.”

Stop by Skegemog Gardens at 648 Railroad Place in Traverse City. You can also follow them on Facebook for updates.