Hartwell’s Nursery started supplying parts of Denton and Dallas counties with landscaping services in 1964—back when Scott Hartwell was just discovering his own affinity for plants.
“When I was a child we had a big Arizona ash tree in our backyard, and I would always gather the seeds and plant them in the flower beds to my mother’s chagrin,” Hartwell said.
Hartwell recalls drawing much of his early passion for plants from his grandmother’s garden.
“My grandmother was a great inspiration,” Hartwell said. “She always had beautiful, beautiful flowers and always a vegetable garden.”
That early immersion into the world of plants found Hartwell designing landscapes for his father, Ken Hartwell, who started the business.
“I was drawing landscape design before I had a driver’s license,” Hartwell said. “I would have another employee drive me to the house so I could meet the customers [and] do the design.”
Now the operator of Hartwell’s Nursery, Hartwell is gearing up for a busy spring season—whether it be through his landscaping operation or his retail shop.
“We are still taking on new work, but right now our schedule is booked for a little while,” Hartwell said.
And after decades of busy spring seasons, Hartwell says he loves being able to drive through the community and point out his company’s work.
“Over the course of 50 years, I can go to just about any street [in Lewisville neighborhoods] and probably point out either a tree that we planted there or a landscape installed,” Hartwell said.
Though Hartwell has amassed knowledge of the intricacies of plant care over the decades, he said he is still learning about new products and ideas from his customers.
“Every day I’m learning new things from my customers. They tell me what works well for them—new products that I’ve never even heard of that might be out there,” Hartwell said. “Every day is a learning experience, and I don’t consider myself an expert. I consider myself a learner.”
Hartwell’s Nursery 1570 N. Stemmons Freeway, Lewisville 972-436-3612 www.hartwellsnursery.com Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Sat. 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.- 4 p.m.