While Little Rock’s Horticare Landscape Co. has continued to operate landscaping services, the nursery and storefront on Stagecoach Road has recently come under new ownership and been rebranded as The Nurserie. At the helm of this new endeavor is Rob Galloway, who also owns WaterVeg, an aquaponics and subscription food-delivery company. “Hydroponics is growing plants in a soil-less medium, and aquaponics combines fish with that system,” Rob explains. In this type of farming, fish fertilize the water that the plants grow in, creating a small eco-system with little to no waste. Until now, WaterVeg has offered delivery of live lettuce plants, most of which were cultivated in greenhouses leased at Horticare. 

When Rob had the opportunity to purchase Horticare’s nursery and grow his passion project, he seized it. “I started doing this in my backyard 12-15 years ago, but I’ve always known I wanted to make it a business,” he says. With help from the previous owners, The Nurserie opened in February without any disruption in operations. “Their business is still going strong on the landscaping side, and they’ve been really helpful before and during the transition,” Rob says. 

While WaterVeg is still operating as its own entity, The Nurserie expands on the idea of a typical nursery as a working farm and market. “In addition to having flowers, shrubs, and trees on the nursery side, we grow tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuces, and of course have all the tilapia tanks,” Rob says.“We’ll also be sourcing local produce, fruits, dairy, and meats from state-certified vendors,” he adds, noting that he’s still looking for more local farmers to join the market. In the future, he hopes to add more greenhouses, tropical plants, and offer classes for beginners interested in hydroponics and aquaponics.

Call (501) 438-0808 or visit thenurserie.com for more information.

This story originally appeared in the July 2020 issue of At Home in Arkansas.