Keeping Thumbs Green For Generations

For Laramie Stone, getting hired to work in the nursery at Stonebridge Garden, Lawn & Landscape Center in Claremore was like a homecoming – literally.

As the granddaughter of original Stonebridge owners Ken and Doree Broostin, and the daughter of their children, Marty and Jolene Stone – also former Stonebridge owners – Laramie is the third generation of her family to work at the northeast Oklahoma-based nursery, garden and landscaping business.

After earning her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from Western Kentucky University, Stone was tapped by her parents to see if she might want to get back into the family business.

“I’d wanted to work in forestry initially, but being back here is great, if a little weird sometimes – some things are exactly the same as they were when I was a kid,” Stone said, “but it’s very good to be back, and it feels good to be helping at the place that my parents and grandparents used to run.”

As a business, Stonebridge has been serving the immediate and surrounding communities for more than 30 years, first under the Broostins, then their children, the Stones, and now under the care of current owners, Michelle and Matt Jones.

“We’re very much a family here – we always have been,” Jones said. “Years ago, Matt and I lived in Ken and Doree’s rent house and we looked after their farm. We may not have been related by blood, but they kind of ‘adopted’ us, and when Marty and Jolene moved to Kentucky, they wanted to keep it in the family, so Matt and I decided to buy it since we were pretty much like family to them.”

As a business, Stonebridge serves its customers as the foremost garden supply store, landscaping and lawn care service and maintenance center in the county.

“In our retail garden center, we grow more than 90 percent of our plants here, we grow herbs, and we grow all of our vegetables – we’re most well-known for our tomatoes, growing about 40 different varieties (of tomatoes) every year,” Jones said. “We grow several heirlooms, annuals – many of which you can’t find anywhere else, and several other things here that are unusual, unlike what you might find at other garden centers, and you’re going to find quality in both the product and the service here.”

Although there are numerous “box stores” and other garden centers in the area, Jones and husband, Matt both emphasized the quality of their products and the professionalism of the services they provided as they and their staff have experience and “plenty of practice” doing the work.

“The quality of products and customer service definitely sets us apart. Here, you’ll get your downhome care, knowledgeable staff, from people who’ve been doing this long enough to understand their job as well as tend to the needs and be able to answer the questions of the customers.”

Local delivery is available year-round, although the center closes in mid-December and typically reopens in January.

So, whether you’re looking for plants, gardening accessories, in need of care for your lawn or property, need landscaping service such as irrigation system installation and service, flower bed maintenance, night lighting or more, contact Matt or Michelle at Stonebridge Garden, Lawn & Landscape Center to answer all your lawn and garden questions.

Stonebridge Garden Center’s hours are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. -3 p.m. on Saturday at 700 E. Will Rogers Boulevard in Claremore. After April 15, they will be open on Sundays from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m..