GODFREY - "A rock is a rock, but there are different rocks and different uses for each." And, "When life hands you rocks, build a rock garden." If you are going to build a rock garden, or create an outdoor living space, Hindley Nursery and Stoneyard has the rocks, or plants, you need.
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On the highway toward Brighton, but still in Godfrey, there are ten acres of just about every kind of rock and stone imaginable. Unlike many other retailers, they have dozens of variations ranging in shapes, sizes and colors.
Creating a pleasing outdoor living space is becoming very popular. “Outdoor living spaces expand the overall usable entertaining area of your home. They give you another place to go, another experience of your home, another place to gather— even another place to watch a movie,” says Stephen Block, president of Inner Gardens.
Providing landscaping and gardening supplies and materials, the company had a humble beginning. Its "roots” go back to Tim and Eleanor Hindley who were both teachers in the Southwestern School District. As teachers, they had some extra time in the summers. As members of the United Methodist Church in Brighton, they volunteered to help with janitorial service of the church. For a small fee, Tim also started mowing lawns for some of the elderly women who attended the church. As demand for mowing grew, the sons, Nathan and Matt, started helping.
Nathan eventually realized they were not charging enough for the mowing services, so he decided to go a different route and started a landscaping business in 1991. At the time, he was mowing the land where the business is located. In 1994, he purchased the property and broke ground to construct the first structure of the current facility.
As the landscaping service increased, he began to purchase plants and stones to supply his business. He also began to retail those plants and supplies. Over the years, the retailing continued to increase.
The company also sold materials and supplies to create landscaping ponds, but over the years it became difficult to compete with online and big box retailers. Today the stone yard is the company’s niche.
As would be expected, the company’s busy season is the April/May timeframe. Still, decorative rock and stone sales can occur throughout the year.
Nathan is a hands-on owner. The company has five employees and Matt helps out on the weekends as needed.
Below is a review from the company’s Facebook page:
“Today my husband and I went to Hindley to pick out plants for our landscaping. My husband and I really had no idea on what kind of plants to get or even where to start. As soon as we walked in Matt who works there asked if we needed help. We then told him what we were doing and showed him some pictures of where we wanted to landscape. Matt picked out the plants for us and gave us different options and even set it all out where it would go in our landscaping. Which was nice for me because I’m a visual person! He spent probably 45 minutes or so with us helping us pick out the right plants. We went in there overwhelmed and left there excited to get our landscaping done and loving it! Thanks so much Matt, we really appreciated everything! We will be back to get the rock and will recommend you to friends and family!”
Hindley Nursery and Stoneyard can be found at: 8440 Montclaire Ave, Godfrey, IL.
For more information about Hindley Nursery and Stoneyard, click here. To learn about other local services in Godfrey, check out their official website at VisitGodfrey.com.
