Growing up the daughter of a horticulturist, plants were always a big deal in our family. From a young age, I learned the scientific names of plants. I was taught how to identify different species of trees. My sister and I learned how to plant the perfect garden. (I still struggle with keeping house plants alive though…) Every spring, we would head to our local nursery. There, we’d fill a wagon full of annuals to complement the perennial gardens we had around our property. My sister and I were allowed to pick out our own annuals to plants – snap dragons, pansies, impatiens, dahlias – but always consisting of three main colors, the theme for the year.

During those formative years, I also gained a lot of experience with container planting – ensuring there was just the right amount of height from spiky grasses, greenery hanging down the planter, and bursts of color throughout the planter. Since then, I’ve always been fond of visiting nurseries and garden centers in Vermont. I’m typically one of the first people in Vermont to put out my hanging baskets. After the long winters we have, I crave vibrant color until the grass greens and leaves pop. Now, I always look forward to filling my own red wagon with beautiful annuals to create my collection of container gardens at home.

About Red Wagon Plants

My first stop every spring for flowers and plants? Red Wagon Plants in Hinesburg, Vermont. It’s hands down my favorite local garden center. Truthfully, though, Red Wagon Plants is so much more than a place to purchase flowers, herbs, and vegetable starters. It’s a destination for education, coffee and pastries, and celebrating community. If you haven’t been, it’s a must-visit in Vermont.

Red Wagon Plants is owned and operated by Julie Rubaud, who started the business in 2005. Julie grew up in France and moved to Vermont early in life. Growing up, she worked in her father’s restaurant Gerard’s, prepping herbs in the kitchen. (You may recognize his name as the late famed local baker of amazing breads.) Julie always felt at home around plants and worked for many years as a vegetable and herb farmer at the Intervale in Burlington. This work, and her passion for growing plants, helped her launch Reg Wagon Plants nearly 15 years ago. Since then, the Vermont garden center has become loved by many, for their diverse offerings and commitment to the local community.

Bring in the Bounty at Wagon Plants

Red Wagon’s tag line, “bring in the bounty” emphasizes their mission of being “growers of premium plants for the vegetable, herb, and ornamental gardens in your life.” Red Wagon specializes in growing over 500 kinds of annuals, over 200 perennial varieties, fruit trees and bushes, shrubs, succulents, vegetables and herbs. (A full list of all of Red Wagon’s Plants offerings is available here on their website.) Their growing methods are organic, and all edibles are certified organic. They also utilize living soils from Vermont Compost Company and seeds from High Mowing, Johnny’s Selected Seeds and Seed SaversExchange.

Additionally, Red Wagon Plants employs the help of “an army of beneficial insects.” Julie shared, “Organic greenhouses such as ours, aim for a clean, balanced ecosystem where good bugs do battle with bad bugs and where disease spores are eradicated by beneficial bacteria.” Every week from late February through mid-August, Julie and her team plants new seeds to provide guests with plants, herbs, and flowers for as long as possible every year.

Culinary Herbs at Red Wagon Plants

Additionally, Red Wagon also grows culinary herbs, which are available at local markets in the summer, fall and winter. Julie and her team grow herbs ten months out of the yer – in the ground, in a heated greenhouse and in an unheated Haygrove tunnel. This new business, Red Wagon Herbs, ensures local establishments have local, fresh herbs to sell throughout the years. Knowing that herbs are one of the easiest ways to add flavor to dishes, Julie also sells her Tiny Herb Series Booklets to help you grow mint, sage, tarragon and parsley at home.

Education at Red Wagon Plants

So much more than a traditional garden center, Red Wagon Plants offers a variety of unique offerings – from “Make and Take Tuesdays” to hands-on seminars and workshops. From making succulent pumpkin planters to learned how to cultivate cannibis to natural dyeing for beginners to making herb-infused vinegars, the classes at Red Wagon Plants bring community members together and offer tremendous value.

All of the seminars range in price from $30 to $175 and are designed for different skill levels. Personally, I’m signing up for Cool Weather Hanging Basket Making and Prune, Pinch, Trellis and Support in the Garden. Browse all of their events and class offerings here. Be sure to reserve your space quickly, as these events tend to sell out!

Unique Offerings at Red Wagon Plants

In addition to educational events, new this year, the former owners of Vergennes Laundry, Julianne and Didier Murat, have opened a pop-up cafe at Red Wagon Plants. They began offering coffee, pastries and sandwiches this spring on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, which has been a draw in-and-of-itself to the garden center. They also recently started offering oysters, where guests can bring their own wine and enjoy a “Happy Afternoon” on site.

Another offering that I think is just so cool is their Winter Salad Club. As part of the club for $200 a season, you’ll get a weekly supply of living greens from Red Wagon’s heated greenhouses. From sunflower sprouts to Tokyo Bekana mustard greens, to mizuna, arugula, kales, baby bok chois, lettuces and pea shoots, the Winter Salad Club is an awesome way to enjoy colorful, fresh salads in the gray winter months. And, if you don’t eat all of your greens right away, you can still enjoy them by continuing to grow them on a sunny kitchen counter for a few weeks! How cool!

Community Involvement at Red Wagon Plants

One of the things I appreciate most about Red Wagon Plants is Julie and her team’s belief that “everyone should have access to healthy food and gardening known-how” in order to grow food themselves. As such, Red Wagon Plants hosts fundraisers for non-profits like Camp Ta-Kum-Ta and the Burlington Emergency Food Shelf, promotes gardening education, and donates plants to a variety of local organizations, including:

• The Vermont Community Garden Network
• Burlington Parks and Recreation
• New Farms for New Americans
• Intervale Center
• The Visiting Nurse Association

They also partner with a variety of local schools to help kids in the community learn to plant and garden. Read more about Red Wagon’s community involvement and partnerships here.

Tips for Visiting Red Wagon Plants Like a Local

• If you’re making a trip to Hinesburg, visit Red Wagon Plants Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm in season.
• Make the trip on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday to enjoy delicious baked goods and sandwiches on site in their new cafe! Or swing by in the afternoon with a bottle of your own wine to enjoy with oysters available at Red Wagon Plants!
• Want to give the gift of locally grown beauty? Red Wagon offers gift cards in any amount up to $200, available through their website here.
• Interested in wholesale? Red Wagon will send your business updates with what’s available weekly.

Red Wagon Plants

2408 Shelburne Falls Road, Hinesburg, Vermont
802-482-4060
Julie@RedWagonPlants.com