Contrary Mary’s Plants & Designs

You know how a group of crows is called a murder, a group of finches is called a charm, a group of Blue Jays is called a party, and a group of owls is called a parliament??? Welllllll…..What do you call a group of tomatoes…???? Give???
Spaghetti Sauce!

Daylilies Cucumbers Eggplants Herbs Melons Peppers Squash.Zucchini Tomatoes Other Veggies Hostas Peonies Succulents 2021 Annuals/Perennials

Welcome to Contrary Mary’s ! We are a small, family-owned greenhouse located southwest of Chicago. We pride ourselves in our HUGE selection of Heirloom veggie plants, all of which are grown with only organic fertilizers, no GMO’s, and NO pesticides (gotta protect our precious Bee Buddies!)

Yayyyyyy…..it’s spring and time for planting!!! I am oh so very confident that 2021 is going to be a maaaaahvelous year, and I’m soooo looking forward to digging in! We are again offering the preorder/pickup option. You can place a telephone order at (815)521-9535 or order via email contrarymary@contrarymarysplants.com . Indicate the plants you want, and then I’ll let you know what is available. You can then prepay, and we can arrange for a time for you to come and pick up your new babies! Safe and easy….I’ll bring your order right out to your vehicle!

Our pickup days will officially begin on 4/28/21 (provided the plants are ready cuz they all have their own timetables). Pickup times are available Tuesdays thru Sundays; please call or email us to schedule.

Annnnddd…..drum roll please……we will Officially Open For Walk In Business starting 5/1/2021!!! Please note that OUR HOURS HAVE CHANGED. WE WILL NOW BE OPEN WEDNESDAYS THRU SUNDAYS 9:00 am to 5:00pm (CLOSED Mondays and Tuesdays). Appointments CAN be made outside our normal opening hours. Order pickups can still be arranged even when we are open for walk-ins.

Planthead
adjusting her ‘do

I KNOW my Plantheads will respect our walk-in rules:

—-Masks REQUIRED while in greenhouse or if social distancing cannot be maintained REGARDLESS OF VACCINATION STATUS.

—Our requirements may change per CDC guidelines as we want all of our Plantheads to stay safe and healthy!

Some maaaahvelous news….our Hardworking Honeybees have provided us with a crop of Nectar From The Bee Gods (aka raw honey)! It will be available to include in your pre-order and also when we open (but it won’t last long so if ya snooze ya looze!). It is yummy-niciousness in a bottle and fabulous health wise for you. If ya never had raw honey ya know not what ya miss!

Just a reminder….WE WILL NO LONGER BE SHIPPING HOSTAS, PEONIES, AND DAYLILIES. Last year I reluctantly made the decision to discontinue the shipping side of the business as it has become too difficult to maintain the walk-in side and the shipping side, and I don’t want quality and service to suffer. I came to the conclusion that I unfortunately can’t do it all!

And please remember….if you are coming for anything special, CALL OR EMAIL FIRST!!!!!!!!!! Just because it is listed on the website does not mean it is currently available. I do not yet know when I can/will be digging hostas and daylilies, but you can give me a possible wish list. I will hopefully be updating my Hosta, Peony and Daylily pages soon (after the veggie rush).

In the meantime, check out our NEW ANNUALS/PERENNIALS 2021 page, TOMATO page (over 100 varieties available….I know, a wee bit over the top, plus I finally updated my new top ten-ish list), PEPPER page, our egg-celent EGGPLANT page, our Mountains of Marvelous MELON page (with a new introduction), our Gobs of Crispy and Quirky CUKES page, our Herds of Handy HERBS page, our Sassy and Stupendous SQUASH/ZUCCHINI page, and our miscellaneous (but of course “gotta-have”) OTHER VEGGIES page.

I am soooooo looking forward to hearing from and seeing (safely) my precious Plantheads! PLEASE take care of yourselves, and remember to be extra kind. We so very much appreciate and are grateful for your support and patronage. Chins Up, Trowels Out, and Smiles On….Stay Safe and Think Green!!!