Our story
Hi there! We're a native plant nursery in Cleveland's North Collinwood neighborhood.
Meadow City founders Julie, Alyssa, and Dave met in graduate school at Ohio State's School of Environment and Natural Resources. In Cleveland, we saw an opportunity to sell native plants in the city - where everyone can find them. We had our first pop-up sales in fall 2022, and opened our retail location in 2023.
Here is a recent presentation we did about the nursery!
And here is some press about our work in The Plain Dealer, The Land, Cleveland Magazine, Spectrum News, and The Collinwood Observer.
As director of Meadow City, Julie Slater does our wild seed collection, marketing, and sales. She has a master's in ecological restoration from Ohio State. Julie gained her love of native plants working in the mountains of Virginia and the bogs of Ohio. Prior to opening Meadow City, she spent a season learning about native plant production at Natives in Harmony near Columbus.
Dave Tomashefski grew up birdwatching in Lakewood. His gift is finding the perfect plant for everyone! Prior to Meadow City, Dave worked at the Soil, Water and Environmental Lab at Ohio State, where he also earned his master's degree. As our education specialist, Dave is responsible for the nursery’s educational programs and materials.
Alyssa Zearley brings essential growing expertise to the nursery. She has a bachelor’s in plant health management from Ohio State and did her master’s research on soil contaminants. Before Meadow City, Alyssa worked at Holden Forests and Gardens where she managed the nursery’s pest program. She is our plant production manager.
Big thanks to our friend Ashley Keesling, who took most of our plant photos. Thanks to Roy Larick for letting us start the nursery in his yard. Thank you to our seed collection helpers, especially M Onion and Kali Mattingly. And thank you to our very first employee, Basia Morris-Bruton. We are also grateful to the many folks who have helped us with everything from accessing wild seed to potting up plants. We wouldn't be here without you!