People walking their dogs stop here for a rest. Walkers without dogs grab a free cup of coffee or tea, or a cookie, and chitchat with the genial staffers. Joggers pause and get a glass of water. Benches provide rest areas throughout the nursery.
Some people even buy plants.
One at a time, or by the dozens. After all, it's almost always sale time at the Earlington Greenhouse, where Renton Avenue South comes down the hill past what used to be an orchard at South 132nd Street. And the customer mailing list that had shriveled like a hosta in the hot sun has grown five-fold in the several years since Ron Minter and Paul Farrington bought the business from the founding Tosh Mano family. This place is one of the anchor points of the community. The locals knew they could get their bedding plants and perennials and vegetable starts here, but landscapers came here for the unusual varieties.