In 1948 in St. Helena, Merle Abbott started a nursery, which was subsequently owned by Jack Champion and then his cousin David Whiting, who changed the name to Whiting’s in 1956.

Whiting’s Nursery is marking the milestone by holding a year-long golden anniversary celebration.

“We’re having monthly drawings and free giveaways,” said owner Kevin Twohey, who purchased the nursery in 1986. “Last month the drawing was for a bistro set. It’s usually garden items. There’s no purchase necessary. People can come in and sign up. The drawing is held the last day of the month at the end of the day.”

Twohey said he was never tempted to change the nursery name. “My name’s too hard to spell and to pronounce,” he said. “Besides, this nursery and David Whiting are quite respected in this community. The business has always been involved locally.”

In fact, in Twohey’s first year as owner of Whiting’s, he donated and delivered a Christmas tree to St. Helena’s firehouse. After talking to the firefighters, he joined the volunteer fire department. He’s now the fire chief.

“It was my dream to build a nursery from scratch,” said Twohey, who moved the nursery from North Crane Avenue to its location on Main Street in St. Helena. “In 2005, we renovated and restored 2.9 acres, including adding a 3,200 square foot barn and restoring an historic house for offices.”

An Illinois carpenter, James Logan, built the house in 1875. Logan became one of St. Helena’s most esteemed citizens.

The nursery grounds are landscaped under mature oak, California bay and Deodar Cedar trees.

“The barn is a good display area with nice giftware and a ‘garden pharmacy.’ At Whiting’s we pride ourselves on full service and going the extra mile.”

That extra mile includes gardening classes. Twohey, a Cal Poly horticulture graduate who once ran a San Diego commercial landscaping business with his brother Mark, will teach two upcoming classes, Container Gardening on June 24 and Summer Lawn Care on July 14.

“The Container Gardening class will be an hour and a half,” said Twohey. “I’ll lead off with the correct soils to use and talk about container size. Then we’ll go over putting color in really big containers without high maintenance.”

Twohey didn’t start out to be in the nursery business.

“It’s ironic that when my brother and I had the landscaping business, my father told me I should be in retail. I didn’t listen to him. Now I’ve been in retail longer than anything else.”

Twohey also tried his hand at cattle ranching, working on an 80,000-acre ranch in Elko County, Nevada.

“I liked cattle ranching, but unless you’re born into a ranching family, it’s difficult because people don’t think you have enough history. Then a friend told me about a nursery for sale in St. Helena and I thought I’d try it. My brother helped me with the site work.”

After visiting nurseries and gardens around the country and in England, Twohey wanted a nursery that would feel like a country estate.

“We wanted it to be a rose garden with meandering pathways that people could stroll.”

Twohey said the nursery is strong in shrubs, herbaceous perennials and annuals. It sells 45 varieties of tomatoes. The nursery is well known for its David Austin rose garden. Planted in front of the historic Logan residence on the property, the rose garden offers mature examples of the famous English roses hybridized by David Austin. Whiting’s has the only display garden for David Austin roses on the West Coast. It includes several unusual types, such as the Dark Lady, Teasing Georgia, Ambridge Rose, Sophy’s Rose and Mary Rose.

“We hope people will come visit to see what’s new and sign up for our drawings,” said Twohey. “We have a strong and loyal staff, many of whom have been with the nursery for 17 years or more. We’re available to help you with every gardening need or question.”

The June 24 Container Gardening class is for designing, planting and maintaining colorful container plants. Class runs 1-2:30 p.m. and costs $10, which includes refreshments and handouts. Pre-registration is necessary by calling 963-5358. Whiting’s is at 738 Main St., St. Helena.