I have been a steady customer since I discovered that they are not far from me in Saco (They are located a couple miles from the Biddeford exit of the Maine Turnpike as you head west on Rt. 111 toward Arundel. Look on the right side of the road a short distance farther from the Shell gas station you will pass on the left and note that it is an AGWAY store and nursery and that is the name you will see on the sign, not Green Mountain Transplants.

I love to browse the greenhouses, picking out "plugs" or larger plants. You can mix and match at will when in the nursey instead of ordering a full flat of one variety. I have bought almost all my herbs there and many flower plants especially, as well as some veggies. If one has some patience a $3.50 hydrangia will soon equal the much bigger/older plant bought elsewhere for many times the price. Gardening is all about patience as I am learning in year three of my vegetable garden and flowerbeds. When you buy small, low cost but healthy plugs and small plants your money goes a long way!

The store has everything from gardening tools to canning supplies to gazing globes, and from bulbs to birdseed. the owners are very nice to talk to and moved to have a bigger place and to be closer to a greater number of customers beyond the mailorder option. I am confident you will find it worth the trip. Wait several weeks before you go though for it is still too early to really have enough to see and buy.

Thanks for the info. If gas prices don't go too far out of sight, we may take a drive down there sometime in May.

I have not been there personally, but a friend went down last year and got a flat (72 plugs). She had a great time choosing her plants! She got some for me, and they were wonderful, large, and so healthy. I would love to take a ride down there myself this year! If you can go and choose your plants yourself I would say "Go for it". Joan

I was there this past week and the greenhouses are not yet open to the public. The owner said around the 1st of May.

I'm glad to hear that they are still in business, and even more glad to hear that one can actually go in person. I bought from them for my nursery business while they were in Vt. I was very pleased with the plants. Then the year they moved to Maine their mail order business was a disaster. According to reviews on Dave's Garden site, they just didn't fill orders and didn't answer calls. I felt bad because I'm sure they were just overwhelmed from the move. Have heard pretty good reviews since then.
I'm surprised to hear they are an Agway store, but glad to know that that is what I should look for. Are the store prices the same as their catalog?
Martha

My history with Green Mountain is only from in-person visits to the Arundel location and as I said before, all very positive. The Agway piece is a plus because it is almost one-stop shopping now for gardeners and pet/farm animal owners. They have pallets of stones, mulch, horse feed, rabbit hutches, and garden gloves, etc. I just looked at the on-line order form/price list and the costs appear to be the same prices as in-store. No shipping costs, of course and it is really fun picking out your own plants and plugs of seedlings. I hope traffic doesn't because a nightmare in the future on Rt. 111 because of the Target, Lowes, et al being built across from the Home Depot & Kohls near the Turnpike; but that can't open before winter or beyond.

I was there this past Monday, which happened to be the day they finally opened the greenhouses to customers. I believe that they don't let the public in before that because they're too busy packing and shipping mail orders. By the time they let the customers in, the bulk of their shipping is complete.

I will say that, again, a lot of their plants were a mess. Many of the fast growers, (annuals and perennials) were extremely rootbound, with roots coming out the bottom of their little pots. Many of those grown from seed had not been thinned. Weeds coming up in the pots. They definitely are primarily a mail-order business, and the customers that visit their store get the leftovers. You have to search, but lots of good plants can still be found.