Business

Verderber’s Nursery expands with 45 acres off Sound Avenue

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Verderber’s Nursery acquired 45 acres of land off Sound Avenue in Northville that will be used to plant nursery stock, including a variety of native plants that are already plentiful on the property. 

“There’s a lot of these native species growing there that we can harvest,” said owner John Verderber.

The property, just east of Phillips Lane and south of Sound Avenue, sold in the fall and closed in October. Syma Gerard of Syma Joffe Gerard, the realtor who sold the land, said the developers of a nearby condominium — Sound Avenue Company LLC — sold the “fully preserved farm” for $1.2 million.

Mr. Verderber said the property had been for sale for “a long time” and it presented an ideal space for the nursery to expand.

The native plants, such as eastern red cedar and northern bayberry, have become popular in recent years, Mr. Verderber said, because they require less fertilizer and are more tolerant to salt and, to some extent, deer.

“They’re very good for the ecology of the island,” he said. “You don’t have to water them. It’s a very popular tree.”

Since purchasing the property, the Verderbers have been working to clear the land, prune plants and clean up the site, which also includes a rundown, vacant home. Mr. Verderber said the home will be torn down and eventually replaced with a new residence, although that likely wouldn’t been done for a few years.

Riverhead Town also required the removal of some old trees that were rotten near Sound Avenue, he said.

“We’re going to relandscape it and make it beautiful and eventually we’re going to put up another residence up there,” he said.

Verderber’s Nursery’s main location is located on Main Road in Aquebogue, a short distance from the new property. The nursery dates back more than 30 years on the North Fork. A second location is located in Southampton. The nursery sells plants for both retail and wholesale.

Mr. Verderber said the nursery needed more room to expand since most of its acreage is currently planted. If not for the native plants already on the new property, he said they likely wouldn’t have purchased the land.

“They don’t require a lot of maintenance,” he said of the native plants. “We were looking for something where we don’t have to put too much labor into it.”

Photo Caption: Workers in January clear the 45-acre property off Sound Avenue purchased by Verderber Nursery. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)

WITH NICOLE SMITH

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