Tapteal Native Plants has plans to uproot this winter to move operations to a new location in Richland. But rest assured, the spring plant sale is still on, and the nursery continues to take seed orders and plant reservations during the move. Tapteal sells more than 10,000 plants per year to residential and commercial customers alike.
The specialty nursery was recently acquired by Julie Wilson, landscape architect, general contractor and owner of Wild Root Landscapes, a niche landscape design-build firm focused on outdoor living spaces. Tapteal's retiring founder, Ann Autrey, said the change of hands is the "perfect fit" since Wilson's design focus is on highlighting hyper-local native plants.
"It's Wild Root's mission to help people see and make connections to our local shrub-steppe (habitat) that they haven't experienced. ... It enriches their lives and expands their connection to nature and a sense of place," Wilson said. "The market is wide open, especially with the expansion of the Heritage Garden Program."
The program, administered through the conservation districts in Benton, Chelan, Franklin, Grant, Adams, Kittitas, Yakima, and Walla Walla counties, provides grant-funded free services to property owners that include technical advice and planting guidance for establishing a certified heritage garden. When Autrey was just getting Tapteal off the ground, Wilson was planting the seeds of Wild Root while working at Musser Landscaping.
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