Scioto Gardens

Scioto Gardens Great native and unusual plants in a natural garden-like setting. He believed the accelerated process was at the expense of long-term plant health.

Rooted in Experience - Scioto Gardens was founded in 1999 by Michael and Linda Johnson, Collectively, they hold degrees in Horticulture and Natural Resources, and have over 90 years experience in the nursery industry and business operations. They grew Scioto Gardens into a nursery that provides high-quality plants with an emphasis on native plants and natural soil. Their plant passion includes unique and useful imported species, provided they are not species that may invade or harm our local environment. Michael's work in every area of the green industry, from garden centers to landscaping to large wholesale nurseries, allowed him to notice the nursery industry as a whole had moved toward aggressive 'factory style' processes that finish plants quickly. His observations and their combined academic training led them to the current, more natural growing methods. In May 2019, Michael and Linda sold the nursery business to a team of partners who will carry on their legacy and allow them to enjoy a well-deserved retirement. The new group of owner-partners includes Christine Dilley, Mark Dilley, Amy Dutt, Denise Gualtiere, Penny McDowell, and Annette Wright. While there may be changes here and there, we are committed to producing high-quality plants that will awaken any landscape.

10/22/2026

Don’t walk, run to Scioto Gardens this October to take advantage of this great deal! All Conservation Grade plants are now just $10 OR LESS.

What is a β€œConservation Grade” plant? These are trees & shrubs that have had a colorful life here at the nursery. Maybe they were damaged by wind, or a pesky rabbit, or were overcrowded and grew sideways. They are still EXCELLENT plants for wildlife, and are often used in naturalized installations (hence the name β€œConservation Grade”), but we don’t sell them at full price since they may never look like a showcase specimen. We currently have over 15 species marked as β€œConservation Grade” that will grow into fabulous plants for most landscapes!

We are open daily (except Mondays) through Sunday, November 1st. After that, we’ll be open by confirmed appointments only. To make an appointment, email us at [email protected], call us at 740-363-8264, or message us here.

Don’t miss out on this excellent deal, and thank you all for a great year!

This past Sunday we had another great day with our volunteers working out in our restoration area. We planted 2 patches ...
10/21/2026

This past Sunday we had another great day with our volunteers working out in our restoration area. We planted 2 patches of trees and shrubs mimicking the Miyawaki method - tightly bunching a biodiverse selection of woody plants to encourage competition and faster growth. In total, we planted 13 trees and 6 shrubs, including basswood, common hackberry, northern catalpa, sycamore, swamp white oak, and sweetshrub.

Afterward, we indulged in more of Amy's fantastic cooking: white bean soup and slaw πŸ˜‹

We can't wait to see how all of this year's work and plantings develop over the next few years!

Thank you to Katie Carey and Rae DiPaola (of and respectively) for sharing their knowledge and insights this past week...
10/21/2026

Thank you to Katie Carey and Rae DiPaola (of and respectively) for sharing their knowledge and insights this past weekend! We are lucky to have such talented and passionate people as friends and members of our Central Ohio community. We had a great time, and hope that everyone attending did as well!

If you missed out, but are looking for to install some plants before winter comes to get a head-start on next year's growing season, but want those plants to be functional both for wildlife and in your kitchen, here is a list of plants that we have available π™§π™žπ™œπ™π™© 𝙣𝙀𝙬! Whether you're looking for green vegetables like sochan (aka green-headed coneflower) and spiderwort, energy-rich foods like sunchokes and groundnut, fruit like serviceberry or black raspberry, or even herbs like nodding onion and wild bergamot, there is certainly a native plant that you can incorporate into your garden and your diet.

Again, thank you Katie and Rae, and everyone who was able to attend this Saturday, and good luck with your gardens in 2027!

Oh, how we chuckle!That's not to say there's nothing to do in the fall - but many of the things that "traditional" garde...
10/20/2026

Oh, how we chuckle!

That's not to say there's nothing to do in the fall - but many of the things that "traditional" gardening practices dictate to do are exactly the things that our gardens don't need.

πŸ‚ Have fallen leaves in your garden beds? Leave them! Fireflies, moth/butterfly pupae, and other organisms live there.

🌼 Have spent perennial stems with seedheads attached? Leave them! Bees and other insects will lay their eggs in those stems next year, and birds will appreciate the seeds all winter. Stems that are even older may have bee larvae already inside, and you certainly don't want to discard them!

🐝 Have some bare soil that "needs" mulched? Leave it! Ground-dwelling bees, wasps, fireflies (again), and other organisms are wintering there and may nest there next year.

Some things you CAN do this fall that will benefit your garden as a habitat and not just a focal point:

🐝 Snap off/cut off *some* seedheads to create easy access into stems for next year's bees. Leave stems standing between 8 and 24 inches tall, and a mix of heights is good!

🍁 Collect leaves from your turf lawn and relocate them, undamaged, to your garden beds to act as fertilizer AND habitat for many of the organisms mentioned earlier. Many moth cocoons could already be hidden amongst those leaves as well, so resist the urge to mulch them!

🌳 Take any fallen or pruned limbs, cut or naturally fallen stems, and other garden debris to a quiet corner of your yard and stack it to create a brush pile that will provide shelter for a wide variety of wildlife. You'll also be preserving any bee larvae tucked safely inside of those stems from last summer!

🌺 For wetland species like great blue lobelia, as well as some other open prairie plants, relocate heavy leaf duff away from the plants' root crowns to prevent root rot. Not every perennial appreciates a heavy layer of fallen leaves πŸ˜‰

It's less about cleanup and more about attentiveness and good stewardship for the habitat that you are fostering! πŸ’œ

10/17/2026

Asters are some of the busiest plants in our gardens when in bloom, and they attract just about every type of pollinator with their easy-to-access floral resources (nectar and pollen). Every insect that needs a late season meal will appreciate asters in your garden - including wasps!

Now, before you reject the notion of attracting wasps, hear us out. Wasps are important pollinators in their own right, since the adults feed on nectar. They also manage the populations of other insects, including pests, in your gardens by feeding them to their hungry larvae. They also mean you no harm, and only sting in self defense when they feel threatened. Most of the time, wasps visiting your flowers are so busy drinking nectar that they don’t even know you’re nearby watching them!

We hope you learn to love wasps like we do, and appreciate how beneficial they are in your landscapes. Once you take an interest in them, you’ll be able to admire the many shapes, sizes, and colors they come in, and cherish these critical critters as much as the other more charismatic guests in your gardens.

Fall is the season of asters and goldenrods that fill the meadows and woodlands with purples, whites, and shining yellow...
10/16/2026

Fall is the season of asters and goldenrods that fill the meadows and woodlands with purples, whites, and shining yellows. We have a number of new crops (β€˜October Skies’ Aromatic Aster & Short’s Goldenrod) joining continuing stock of these amazing autumn flowers, making for a great lineup for just about any soil condition:

- Blue Wood Aster
- Heath Aster
- β€˜Snow Flurry’ Heath Aster
- New England Aster
- β€˜October Skies’ Aromatic Aster
- Smooth Aster
- Bluestem Goldenrod
- β€˜Fireworks’ Rough-stemmed Goldenrod
- Gray Goldenrod
- Riddell’s Goldenrod
- Short’s Goldenrod
- Zigzag Goldenrod

With just a few weeks left of Scioto Gardens' normal operating hours, don't miss out!

π™‹π™€π™§π™˜π™ 𝙏𝙖𝙑𝙠: π™π™§π™šπ™š & π™Žπ™π™§π™ͺ𝙗 𝙋𝙧π™ͺπ™£π™žπ™£π™œ 𝙒𝙀𝙧𝙠𝙨𝙝𝙀π™₯If you’re new to pruning or looking to brush up on your skills, this workshop i...
10/15/2026

π™‹π™€π™§π™˜π™ 𝙏𝙖𝙑𝙠: π™π™§π™šπ™š & π™Žπ™π™§π™ͺ𝙗 𝙋𝙧π™ͺπ™£π™žπ™£π™œ 𝙒𝙀𝙧𝙠𝙨𝙝𝙀π™₯

If you’re new to pruning or looking to brush up on your skills, this workshop is for you! We know that pruning can be intimidating, and many people fear "ruining" their plants, but we're here to help!

The class will be taught by our own Marcey Mirick, a horticulturist with over 30 years of industry experience. We’ll cover safety, timing, methods for trees vs shrubs, renewal vs rejuvenation, old wood vs new wood, and tool maintenance. Classroom discussion and demonstration will be followed by supervised hands-on practice. A great follow-up to our Winter Education Series.

In spring 2027, be sure to look for our Part II Pruning class, which will focus on how to prune perennials.

Date: Saturday, October 31, 2026
Time: 12pm - 2pm
Cost: $15 per person (cost includes a 𝙁𝙍𝙀𝙀 "Conservation Grade" tree or shrub of your choice, while supplies last)

Tickets are available now on our website, and advance registration is required. Purchase here: https://shop.sciotogardens.com/products/pruning-workshop-each

Last call for this amazing opportunity this weekend!Are you looking to become more self-reliant in this uncertain world,...
10/14/2026

Last call for this amazing opportunity this weekend!

Are you looking to become more self-reliant in this uncertain world, but worry about balancing a food garden with supporting your local ecosystem with your landscape? In truth, both goals are obtainable without sacrificing one for the other. Learn how to turn your yard into an edible native landscape with Katie Carey from Columbus Foodscapes and Rae DiPaolo from Tree Folk on Saturday, October 17, 2026!

Katie, a certified Permaculture Designer, Master Gardener, Master Urban Farmer, and Garden Educator, brings a breadth of expertise that will ensure your native foodscape is well-designed and beneficial for people and animals. Rae is a community herbalist, forager and admirer of the native flora and fauna of central Ohio. Living in Columbus, Rae educates and guides people passionate about medicinal herbs, edible plants, and local ecology.

The class will be held here at the Scioto Gardens nursery, and tickets are $35 each. Advance registration is required, and tickets can be purchased at: https://tinyurl.com/4n7ve7aj

Date: Saturday, 10-17-26
Time: 10am - 12pm
Cost: $35
Location: Scioto Gardens, 2870 Curve Rd, Delaware, OH 43015

10/14/2026

This was our second year for the bluebird trail here at Scioto Gardens, and we’re already seeing results! Last year we had 8 fledglings from two pairs of adults, and this year we had a whopping 15! If you want to support eastern bluebirds with your landscape, make sure to support both adult and nestling birds. In the summer, and when feeding their nestlings, bluebirds eat a lot of Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) as well as Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids). By planting host plants and providing habitat for these insects, you’re helping feed the chicks and their parents. In the fall and winter, fledged and adult bluebirds add fruit to their diets, so providing fruiting shrubs, trees, and even vines can help feed them when other food sources grow scarce. Stop by to see if you can spot any of our resident bluebirds this fall, and pick out some helpful plants for your gardens too!

For this design, our client wanted their backyard to feel like a "hug" - their own private woodland to provide peace, ca...
10/12/2026

For this design, our client wanted their backyard to feel like a "hug" - their own private woodland to provide peace, calm, and comfort.

With their sweet dog in mind, the space is organized around a small central lawn. The intentional shape of the lawn allows the design to be legible and the yard to feel serene. An aggregate patio is just the right size for two future Vego raised garden beds. They will have perfect southeast sun exposure for food production, with morning sun drying dew off of the vegetables to prevent rot, and shade shielding the plants from the scorching southwest sun.

A perimeter planting of trees and shrubs will provide privacy and the woodland feel. Using a wide variety of woody plants, berries will be provided for birds while the foliage will host a diverse array of butterfly and moth caterpillars. Native perennials will bloom from spring to fall to provide beauty, as well as the necessary resources to draw in and feed pollinators.

The bird fountain was found by our client, and it's absolutely perfect. It is installed with shallow puddling areas below for birds and other wildlife to safely drink from. Boulders, tree "cookies," and driftwood add to the woodland vibes and sooth the soul.

We're taking new clients for fall if you'd like to create your own backyard nature preserve! You can start your custom design by visiting our website's Services tab to get the process started for a spring installation date.

Address

Delaware, OH

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm

Telephone

+17403638264

Website

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