Hector and Green Thing New owner prepares Green Thing Nursery for spring

Hector Cardenas is the new proprietor of the Green Thing Nursery. Locals may know him for his spoken word performances and his efforts to provide a platform for poets with the Idyllwild Poetry Society. But he also has experience in the nursery business. His uncle George owned a production nursery in Bonsall, and as a teenager, Hector worked there.

This last weekend, Cardenas and his friends were there cleaning up and getting ready for spring. “I’ve had a lot of help from volunteers,” he said. Much of the inventory is just waking up from dormancy. He plans to focus on bringing the magic of native plants to home gardens and providing seeds and starts for kitchen gardening, “fruit trees too.”

One of Cardenas’ dreams is to help local gardeners create “calendar” gardens with blooms that mark the month and season. He is looking forward to hosting gardening workshops and concerts. The place has a beat, as Hector likes to curate a playlist for shoppers. A music festival is one of his long-term goals.

Green Thing Nursery, 26115 Highway 243. Projected hours are “10-ish to 5”, Thursday through Monday.