MARK WAITE / PVT Marilyn Miller picks out some green bushes during the grand opening of Star Nursery on Buol Lane last Saturday. MARK WAITE / PVT Shoppers haul carts of plants, bushes and trees out of Star Nursery during a busy, grand opening day Saturday. Advertisement

Master Gardener trainee Carol McGovern and her friend Roberta Lessard were having a worker load a whole bunch of plants into the back of their pickup at the grand opening of Star Nursery on Highway 372 Saturday morning.

"I kind of feel sorry for the good old boys. But you know what? I've been dealing with the good old boys for seven years," McGovern said, referring to the existing nurseries in Pahrump. She said the increased competition from the large chain nursery will be good for the locals.

McGovern liked the fact she could buy Mondale pines for $7.88 instead of $25, if they were available at all elsewhere after germination problems this year. She recalled how one of six pine trees she bought at a local nursery died and the nursery wouldn't take it back, saying they wouldn't guarantee it.

Joyce Harris was picking out some rose bushes. The new store here in Pahrump will save her some trips over the hill.

"I used to go to Las Vegas all the time to Star Nursery -- nice to see it here," Harris said. "We landscaped our whole yard."

Customers munched on free hot dogs and entered a raffle for a wheelbarrow full of tools. Kids had their faces painted while Coyote Country radio aired a live remote from the store.

The wide variety of plant material wasn't lost on people stopping by to load up the wheelbarrow during the grand opening of the store on Buol Lane.

Jim Jones, Star Nursery vice-president of operations, said Star Nursery has seven stores in Las Vegas, two in St. George, Utah, and two in Phoenix, Ariz. An eighth Las Vegas store will be opening soon. The Pahrump store opened a few weeks ago, but wasn't fully stocked and ready to go until the grand opening last weekend, he said.

"The owner's philosophy has always been, the right plants at the right price, take care of the customers, give them what they need, don't sell them something they don't, and that's what we're here to do. I've been with Star Nursery 19 years," Jones said.

Star Nursery was still constructing the local store when Pahrump customers were already clamoring for plants and trees, he said. The company buys plant material from growers throughout the country, from Florida to California, ensuring a wide variety of offerings.

Star Nursery hired 25 employees, who will be part of a company with 600 employees, called associates, Jones said.

There are some differences between the climate in Las Vegas and Pahrump Valley, which gets a little colder, he said.

"We had to be careful on what we do carry here. We don't want people to take things home and lose them, especially after last winter. It was so cold, it froze a lot of stuff, opened people's eyes up to what you can and can't plant out here," Jones said.

Star Nursery will put up a shade house to keep the sun out in the summer, while plants will be wrapped in the cold winter, he said.

"Queen palms are marginal in Vegas but they would not make it out here. The fruit-less olives, they froze out here, the African sumac trees they all froze out here, and those all do well in Vegas," Jones said.

"The nurseries that are here, I'm sure they've done a great job, but one of the things we do is bring a wider variety of plant material, and hopefully at the best price we can," Jones said. "We're not here to lead anybody wrong. We want them to be successful at gardening so they'll keep doing it. Gardening's a great family experience. I got into this business because of my mother, she was a great gardener."