Lavalette Nursery was started in 1947 by Bill Springer and a partner on a small farm south of Huntington, West Virginia.

Houses were built, plants were set out, families were started and a business was born. The nursery's main focus in those early days was selling and installing the plants they grew.

The primary market has always been in Huntington, and in 1954 the partners decided to build a garden center in the city itself. They chose as their new home the site of an abandoned rock quarry on U.S. 52 just inside the city's southern limits. A few years later, Interstate-64 was built with the 5th Street exit less than a quarter mile away.

Over the years, the site has been improved and expanded and today it features a scenic waterfall, display gardens and plenty of parking.

What once was a muddy mess has been transformed into a thriving business visited by thousands of people every year.

Our garden center is open year round and strives to keep a selection of quality plants and products that will entice beginning gardeners and compel plant connoisseurs to add to their collections.

Our staff includes two certified professional horticulturalists who can answer just about any question that might arise. The landscaping portion of the business designs and builds projects for residential and commericial clients within a 30-mile radius of Huntington.

The landscape crews can handle just about any landscape chore, from rough grading a site to putting the finishing touches on a backyard pond and perennial garden.

In the past half century, many changes have taken place. Nursery stock is no longer grown at the Lavalette site. But the mission remains the same: To provide quality plants, products and services at a fair price in a friendly, professional setting. Lavalette Nursery invites anyone who loves plants to stop by and visit.

Pictures from our early years -- all taken in November 1957.