#hiddenforestnursery #sebastopol #hiddenforestbotanicalreserve
In brief, in 1964, Stewart and Audrey Barber created what was known as the Azalea Farm, growing and hybridizing Exbury Azaleas. When Polo de Lorenzo and Warren Smith purchased the nursery in 1976, it consisted of the gardens by the house and the nursery area. At the time, the rest of the property was overgrown with blackberry and weeds. Over the years, the weeds were cleared away and the rest of the acreage planted to become the forest garden that exists today. In 2016, after 50 dedicated years, Polo was ready to pass the “magic wand” to someone with a vision as big as his seven-acre forest nursery. When Mike heard that the nursery was for sale, he wrestled it away from a real estate developer. Mike changed the name to “Hidden Forest Nursery” because that’s what it is! A nursery in a forest, off the beaten path, hidden at the end of a little lane in the Hessel Area of Sebastopol.
