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By George Rowand
• -««•- *’* Rappahannock Newg ijlaff Writer
There are more azaleas in the world than one can possibly imagine.
“There are more than 12,000 varieties,” Richard Antony, co-owner of the Long Mountain Nursery with his wife, Sandy. “And you go to a regular garden center and see a half-dozen varieties.”
The Antonys develop and sell azaleas, rhododendrons, hostas and daylilies at their business in Washington, Va., and they produce plants for wholesale as well as retail sale.
“We have about 200 varieties of azaleas at any one moment,” Sandy Antony stated. “On top of the mountain, we have 500 different varieties in the ground. That’s what we call our ‘arboretum.’ ”
The arboretum is located at the top of the mountain as one enters the property. About this time of year, with 500 large azaleas coming into bloom, the view is nothing short of spectacular.
Engineering another career
Richard Antony is an electrical engineer by training and he continues to work in that profession, with an understanding company that allows him to telecommute frequently from their home next to the nursery.
He said he and his wife bought the 25 acres that comprise the nursery 28 years ago when they used to hike in the area.
“I used to come down here hiking when I was single,” he said.. “We got married in 1975, and we kept coming down here. I always wanted to live in the country, but couldn’t figure out how to do it.
“We bought this property for our retirement,” he continued, “and we started planting azaleas at the top of the mountain. One day I had 50 cuttings in a cold frame, and a friend saw them and said, ‘Richard, that’s it!’ So we started the nursery, and we built a barn that became a house, and in 1985 we moved down here.
“The nursery has gotten pretty large since then,” he said.
Now there never seems to be a moment when the staff isn’t busy. The nursery employs three full-time employees.
“We ship azaleas to garden centers in February and March, and in April, we’re doing a lot of things,” Richard Antony said.
“We typically grow between 100 and 200 azaleas of one variety or 200 to 300 of a special variety.”
That process involves cutting off tiny new growth from existing plants and nurturing them throughout the long process that takes them from a mere twig to
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