Garden Center: Time for Fall Plantings

Over the years, when Cedar Grove residents needed gardening supplies and tools, they haven’t had to travel far.

Since 1930, the Cox family has been managing the Cedar Grove Garden Center at 1201 Pompton Ave. in Cedar Grove. Prior to that, the Cox’s property included a plot in Montclair, which the family owned since 1880.

Ted Cox Jr. and his family has sold plants, trees, flowers and just about every supply needed for growing or beautifying the exterior of a home.

“I'm the fifth generation (owner),” Cox said while seated in his office surrounded by old black and white family photos. “All the generations have run the business since my grandfather's grandfather.”

Cox recently sat down with Patch to talk about the upcoming fall season.

What are some of the special items you offer customers at Cedar Grove Garden Center?

“We have a lot of seasonal items for spring, summer and fall. We sell a lot of shrubs right up to November. Right now we have hay, cornstalks and pumpkins. In the winter we sell Christmas trees and customized horseshoe wreaths. Every year we make a very large custom wreath for St. Joseph's Hospital. That’s one thing you can't get at Home Depot.”

“We also grow a lot of stuff in our greenhouses in January and February. We have 30,000 square feet of greenhouse space.”

What are your most popular items for the fall?

“Shrubberies and shade trees, evergreens, hollys, rhododendrons. (We) sell every kind of shrub.

(We) sell a lot of Halloween decorations this time of year as well as firewood, straw, pumpkins and corn stalks. And cabbage and kale and mums. We grow 6,000 mums here. That’s’ a big item in the fall.

We also get about 3,000 big pumpkins and a lot of little ones too. The pumpkins come from around New Jersey. You wouldn't think it, but Jersey has some great farms for pumpkins.”

Are you seeing an uptick in sales this far before Halloween?

“We are always a little bit slower towards the end of summer, but right about the end of September it picks up again. A lot of people do fall planting and we sell a lot of Halloween items.”

“We are the busiest in the spring with all the spring plantings but a lot of people do fall planting too. Planting goes until the middle of November right before Christmas starts.”

Why should people choose Cedar Grove Garden Center over the major chains?

“We pride ourselves on our plants. We have a very big selection, especially for this area. People really like going through our greenhouses and seeing our different selections. We also have a large selection of big trees, shade trees, ornamental trees and large evergreens and we also do landscape design.”

“Its 100 years of a family business with a wide selection, plus years and years of experience.”

What don't most people realize about Cedar Grove Garden Center?

“The biggest thing is when people drive past on Pompton Avenue, they don't realize about our huge selection of landscape materials. People come in and turn the corner they go 'Wow! I didn't realize how much stuff you had here!'”

“We also provide free landscape estimates and landscape design.”

Cedar Grove Garden Center is located at 1201 Pompton Ave. in Cedar Grove. They may be reached at (973) 256-1950.