A Company With Deep Roots
Augustine Nursery Grows, Sell Quality Trees
Ron Augustine drove his pickup truck behind the sprawling plot on Van Kleeck Lane with the pride of a patriarch and the eye of a purist.
“I always raise the bar every year,” said the 70-year-old coowner of Augustine Nursery. “I’m never happy where I am. You got to stay on top of your game.”
The Kingston native and his brother, Mike, have managed to do that for 40 years.
What started out as a siblings-based grass-cutting business in 1974 has evolved into a well-respected operation where trees are cultivated, sold and used in residential and commercial landscaping designs.
The brothers bought the six-acre nursery that parallels U.S. Route 9W in 1987 and they have been there since.
The Augustines also operate a Lawn Doctor franchise at the Van Kleeck Lane retail space and over the years have added other components to their landscaping business such as a stone yard and bulk materials like mulch and gravel.
The brothers continue to work well together, with Mike concentrating on the buying and selling, and Ron focusing on the design end of the business.
Mike’s wife, Penny, runs the nursery operations, and their son, Mike, joined the business as an estimator.
Ron Augustine is self-taught as a landscape designer and deals directly with homeowners.
“I have a natural feel for it and a lot of experience. Not much puzzles me,” he said. “When I go to people’s yards, it doesn’t take me long to figure out what the needs are. People come to us because we really care about what we’re doing.”
To get to the stage of a good outdoor design, it takes more than a keen eye. Premium plants are key, Augustine said.
On that recent truck trip, he pointed to the hardy hemlocks and pines, crabapples and locusts, hydrangeas and lilacs all neatly laid out at the nursery and ready to be snatched up by customers itching to beautify their lawns this spring.
Most, he said, have been lovingly grown at the family’s 67acre Kingston farm on the delta of the Esopus Creek. Augustine calls it a tree paradise, where each sapling is given room to become the grand hardwoods, ornamentals and evergreens the nursery is known for.
“A lot of people don’t know that we grow 20,000 trees in 200 varieties locally. I dig up between 750 to 1,000 trees annually, and every year I put about 1,500 back in the ground,” Augustine said.
“The soil is so great that I don’t have to irrigate my farms. I dig under the ground and the soil is moist and cool. I can go down 10 feet and not hit a rock.” The result is better trees for better landscapes, he said. Right now, the Augustines are in the thick of things as Mother’s Day approaches and discerning homeowners look to plant trees flush with color and fragrance.
A recent trend Augustine has capitalized on is the extension of living space to the outdoors—whether simple or elaborate.
“It’s amazing what people are doing. They’re putting in fire pits and stone walls around their patios,” Augustine said. “It used to be just simple things like shrubs, but now, they’re getting more sophisticated, creating outdoor rooms.
“In Westchester County and Long Island, it’s always been big, but we’re seeing more of it here. It becomes another living space outside.”
Homeowners represent about 75 percent of Augustine’s business, so he said his philosophy of raising the bar each year further enhances his reputation.
“My biggest joy is seeing the landscaping process unfold so quickly. Within four to seven days, we come back with a plan. When we pull up in the morning with a crew, we can do a lot in one day. The transformation that takes place in an eight or 10hour day is really rewarding.”
Though more time may be required for bigger projects like adding an irrigation system or putting in lighting, Augustine said his expert crews work hard to get them done in a reasonable period.
“It’s important to stay in that period you commit to. Nine out of 10 times, we’re right on. It’s really rewarding for all involved—both my guys and my clients. That, for me, is the champagne popper.”