Profile for Cox Interactive’s
on-line Rhode Island website OSO.com: Garden Guide
Sean
Conway
~~~
Sean Conway, Proprietor
Conway’s Nursery for Uncommon Plants
3941 Main Road, Route 77
Tiverton, Rhode Island 02878
401-624-8222
| “Conway has always
sought to set himself apart, and has succeeded.” |
|
Sean Conway has parlayed his extraordinary
knowledge of plants and his innate sense of elegance and
style into one of the country’s premiere nurseries
specializing in hard-to-find plants. Conway opened his nursery
in the spring of 1995 at its first location, just a hop
skip and a jump down the road from Tiverton Four Corners,
home of Gray’s Ice Cream and The Provender. After
3 years at this location Conway was able to purchase the
site he really wanted which was directly across the road.
He transferred the entire nursery lock stock and barrel
to the larger and more desirable location on land leading
down to the banks of Nonquit Pond with the Borden Brook
bordering the south. On the property, which was once owned
by well-known nurseryman Lloyde Lawton there was also a
wonderful 140-year-old home which Conway has made into his
family home. He lives there with his wife, two small children,
dogs and a parrot. The many outbuildings on the property,
which Conway has since put to use as his office and work
space, add to the lush and rustic country atmosphere of
the place. After many months of hard work restoring and
re-designing the land around the house and outbuildings
the nursery now exudes a warm old-world charm mixed with
a tremendous flair for the unusual in cutting-edge horticulture
- a rare mix in the horticultural world.
| “...a featured
contributor to Martha Stewart Living...” |
|
Conway has always sought to set himself apart
and has succeeded, all the while maintaining many well-established
relationships in the world of nurserymen. He grew up in
Portsmouth and considers himself a “local-boy”
but his world view is expansive. His background in biology
formed his first foray into horticulture. But it was his
years working in a local Little Compton nursery that furnished
him with his solid knowledge of plants and deep love of
the more unusual and under-cultivated in the plant world.
During these years he built a following of plant enthusiasts
who knew Conway to be especially knowledgeable about the
plants they sought. It was this growing following that convinced
Conway to start his own nursery.
In the years since he started Conway’s
Nursery, Conway has experienced outstanding growth and now
finds himself in the spotlight both locally and nationally.
He was Show Designer for the first five years of the annual
Rhode Island Flower Show, the Show Designer and Manager
for the acclaimed Newport Flower Show, and he maintains
an on-going relationship with Martha Stewart as a repeat
guest on her television show and a featured contributor
to her magazine, Martha Steward Living. He has also designed
a unique product for Stewart’s mail-order catalog.
More recently Conway was approached by Target to come on
board as Garden Consultant to the trend-setting mass retailer.
Target’s push into the more up-scale world of retailing
demanded someone with the horticultural knowledge and style
that they found in Conway. In this role for Target Conway
has traveled extensively both in this country and abroad
researching and observing trends, products and ideas to
help differentiate Target from other mass retailers. And
this, all the while maintaining day-to-day operation of
his own nursery. He has a small but knowledgeable staff
who assist him in this endeavor thus ensuring the ongoing
success of Conway’s Nursery. The work for Target and
for his own nursery form a symbiotic relationship which
benefits both Target and Conway’s Nursery.
| “In the years since
he started Conway’s Nursery, Conway has
experienced outstanding growth...” |
|
Conway has contributed articles to Horticulture
magazine and is also contributing Garden Expert to WRNI,
Rhode Island’s National Public Radio station. Conway
also lectures extensively on gardening and related topics.
His latest venture is a book about container gardens - something
for which his nursery has become so well known.
The web site for Conway’s Nursery
is currently under construction to better serve his growing
clientele. The web site for Target is target.com
