A Long And Rich History

Founded in 1880

New England Nurseries' origins began in 1880 as part of the Geneva Nursery. The Geneva Nursery was established in Geneva, NY in 1846. The village of Geneva was a nursery and agricultural community due to the highly fertile soils of western NY. The combined operation, consisted of 800 acres, and served the Northeastern United States.

Wholesale Nursery

The original office, which also included the home of the owners, Mathilda and John Kirkegaard, was located at 247 - 249 Concord Road. One of the two first private telephone lines in Bedford, MA

was to this office.

Shipped By Rail

The Nursery had it's own railroad stop in Bedford, MA, designated Shady Hill Station, as well as a sales office in Boston. We shipped products

all over the country. The train stopped just to the right of the image pictured. Today, you can still pass this building along

the Minuteman Bikeway Rail Trail.

Shady Hill Nursery Gets A New Name

In 1912, the name Shady Hill Nursery was changed to New England Nurseries.

The new trademark was, "Bedford Grown Means Quality"

Snapshot In History

New England Nurseries began circulating our own plant catalogs in the early 1900's. Here is a snapshot of a 1921 catalog, where you could buy a Sugar Maple Tree for $1.50 or a dozen Rhododendrons for $20.00. $1.50 in 1921 was worth a little over $23 in today's dollars.

A New Business Office

The small building pictured was the first official business location outside of John and Mathilda's home. It resided here, where we are located now, at 216 Concord Road, Bedford, MA.

Expanding The Business

In the 1970's, New England Nurseries branched out from wholesale to offer retail sales, landscape design, and landscape construction.

We've Come A Long Way

Over 140-years later and we've updated and upgraded. New England Nurseries remains a huge part of the Bedford, MA community. We have 6-acres of trees, shrubs, and plants. We have a two greenhouses. And we've greatly expanded our retail and service operations. The building that was attached to the railroad stop is now a barn,

and we've added a composting operation.

We serve all of our surrounding towns to areas encompassing MetroWest Boston. And, best of all, we're still a family-owned and operated business. From the Kirkegaard's to the Brown-family, we've been here for 5-generations and look forward to many more.