The idea of starting a tree farm scared the fertilizer out of us. But, our nursery and landscape business was growing dramatically. As a family we decided we needed a larger and more reliable supply of bigger and better trees of all varieties. Local growers specialized in the smaller garden variety trees you see in most nurseries and big box stores. The few that did grow larger specimens were charging exorbitant prices and couldn’t guarantee the quantities we needed. So, in 1997, we decided to dig in and grow our own.

We started small. First, there was just one acre. Then 10. Then 30. And today, the Augustine tree farm spans 60 lush acres on the fertile delta of the Esopus Creek in Kingston. It is a tree paradise. We grow more than 20,000 trees, which include hundreds of varieties of the most spectacular hardwoods, ornamentals and evergreens you’ve ever seen.

As always, we Augustines had great expectations. We simply wanted the Augustine tree farm to produce the finest quality trees of any tree farm in the Hudson Valley. Our goal was for Augustine trees to be grander in stature, truer in form and confirmation, and stronger in constitution than our competitors. And we did many things differently to achieve that goal.

Most tree farms cram as many trees as possible onto each and every inch of land. We don’t. We give our trees plenty of room to grow and spread out. Many tree farms over fertilize their trees to spur faster growth. While this works, it compromises the tree’s long-term health and growth. We don’t. We use a special organic fertilizer in appropriate measure to help our trees grow at a healthy and proper pace. We also weed and water at a level some might call obsessive. But if you’re not obsessive, you simply can’t grow better trees. And that’s what the Augustine Nursery is about. Better trees for better landscapes.