About Us

You never know when or where the gardening bug’s going to bite! Years ago we found ourselves gardening on a postage stamp-size bit of ground in Brooklyn, in the shadow of the Williamsburg Bridge. After we had finally used up the last square-inch of ground, we knew we had to either acquire more real estate or give up gardening. Well, giving up gardening was out of the question, so off we went to nearby New Jersey, where we had half an acre of mostly virgin territory. Boy, were we going to garden!

When the time came to start planting, however, we soon became frustrated with the lack of diversity among plants offered by local garden centers, and when we ordered from many mail-order sources, we quickly lost patience with the recently rooted cuttings only inches high or the anemic little plantlets that had to be put on life-support to survive and grow. That’s when we started thinking there might be a few fellow gardeners out there who shared our passion as well as our frustration.

In the late 1980’s we relocated to a 6-acre property in southern New Jersey with the goal of growing plants to a size and quality that we ourselves had been hoping to receive when ordering by mail, a simple rule of thumb that still guides the operation of Fairweather Gardens. In 1992 we sent out our first catalogue, a black-and-white 10-page job! Well, a few things have changed since then, and our spring catalogue runs to a hefty 80 color pages, but there are still only two of us, and we still have the same commitment to diversity and quality. We think of ourselves primarily as gardeners and take pride in growing and providing superior plants that you’ll enjoy for many years after they leave our nursery.

We hope the gardening bug bites with this visit to our website, and we look forward to helping you achieve your gardening dreams!

Robert Hoffman & Robert Popham

Fairweather Gardens
P.O. Box 330
Greenwich, NJ 08323

Phone: (856) 451-6261
Fax: (856) 451-0303

A Letter from Robert Hoffman

Dear Friends, 

I must share the sad and unbelievable news that Fairweather Gardens co-owner, Robert Popham, died on Saturday, May 8, 2010, of a pulmonary embolism. While recovering from a broken and dislocated ankle, he was suddenly and unexpectedly stricken at home.

Robert’s meticulousness and attention to detail are present in every plant we send out and on every page of our catalogue. Visitors to our Open Houses never failed to comment on his stentorian voice and Ciceronian diction as he called out the Latin names of their plants. Fairweather Gardens will carry on, and we will strive to meet the high standards that he set for all of us. 

Sincerely,

Robert Hoffman