About

Welcome to Joyful Souls Heirloom Nursey.

Our business is a black- owned, mother/son duo. Lisa, a life-long educator of students with special needs has always integrated gardening in her classrooms as a means of teaching and mindfulness relaxation. Her son, Clarence, is on the autism spectrum and enjoys managing his own garden as well as engaging in social interactions with those who come to visit our nursery. Clarence handles the irrigation of our gardens and customer service, while Lisa manages planting, feeding, and customer service. Working from a small, urban location, we are able to pay close attention to the quality of our seedlings and, thus, the vegetables and herbs they produce. At our nursery, we strive to have a variety of seedlings and starters to plant for beginners all the way up to advanced gardeners. We will help you choose plants that suit your growing habitat, taste, and other needs. We try to stay in contact with out customers through out the whole season of planting to ensure you are having the best planting season possible.

Our
Story

Get to Know Us

My name is Lisa. I have grown herbs, flowers, vegetables, and propagated all kinds of plants for over 30 years. My first visceral memory of being aware of the plants growing around me was when I about 4 years. I am on the swing at my Oma's house in Holland. I smell the herbs that she had growing all around. I remember how green and fragrant it was as I was swinging. I have ongoing memories of being in her greenhouse and the smell of the humid, damp, air and being surrounded by lush plants of every kind. Later I remember her awakening me at 1:00 am to come see her plant flowering that only bloomed once every so often. Between her and my mother, a Master Gardener, I learned about growing all types of plants. I learned about the environment around me and to use it to benefit the plants I grew.

Later, as I became a mother I began growing in my back yard for my own family, with a focus on vegetables. Concerned with ingredients in food I wanted to improve our diets and overall health. This later expanded as I grew herbs. I remember my son having colic badly as an infant. I learned about catnip tea and started giving it to him. I was so relieved to see it calm him and not struggle with the colic at the same level. I also studied to be a teacher for students with special needs. In teaching I instructed my students using gardening. I taught them science while learning about soil and plants. I taught them history using plants found in various countries. I taught literacy by reading stories about scientists and growers. I taught math by measuring to build a greenhouse, making garden benches and garden beds. We measured capacity of soil and watering needs. I remember when a student found a bean sprouting from its seed in the soil, and his quiet musing as he observed it, "Wow, who knew beans come from the ground!". I loved watching my students plant and then harvest what they grew.

Later, when that school transitioned to another purpose, I was called and asked if I would like the greenhouse. It was a sturdy glass greenhouse and so my mother and I packed up her small truck with some tools and went to dismantle it and later, rebuild it at my new home. This began my own journey to my nursery.

Always having a garden, friends would always ask for my seedlings or the produce that I grew. So while growing seedlings for myself, I expanded and began to grow more than I needed. Soon folks were buying my seedlings and asking or more. I also availed myself of certifications in the agricultural business arena to assure that my knowledge is sound, and that my own nursery would be a success. Thus began the Joyful Souls Heirloom Nursery.

I have run my own seedling nursery for several years now. It started with that used greenhouse and a group of friends who wanted to purchase seedlings from me to start their own gardens, to now, being a fully functioning nursery business with a competitive customer list. I currently grow and sell thousands of

seedlings a season and providing gardening classes! My goal was to add to my full-time job income in education. My goal has since grown to this being my retirement plan- something I don’t have to, or want to retire from! It includes my family as part of the staff. All of this done from my .385 acre backyard.

I believe and research shows that sustainable gardening practices are attributed to healthier living in terms of physical, social, and mental wellbeing.

My nursery motto is indicative of not only the growing of plants, but also the growing of the mind to learn and evolve in order to be successful and enjoy doing it, so...

Come Grow with Me!