"He that plants trees loves others beside himself." -- Thomas Fuller

About Rich's Foxwillow Pines Nursery

Richard Eyre developed a passion for gardening and conifers at a very early age. He was influenced by his parents and grandparents who were avid gardeners. In the early 1950s, Rich's parents met Pete Girard Sr. at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show where Pete was demonstrating tree grafting. Rich's mother, Margaret, grew trees from Girard's in a home nursery for their construction business projects, and Rich was fascinated with the more unusual trees in their catalog. In 1968, while working for the Peace Corps, Rich found a copy of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden series on dwarf conifers by Fred Bergman in his Peace Corps book locker in Bolivia. And it was while working in the Amazon jungle that he dreamed of raising rare conifers for a living.On his return in 1970, he began building his conifer collection. He realized his dream with his wife, Susan, and mother Margaret when they launched the business. The first trees were planted at Foxwillow Pines Nursery in 1988.

The Nursery

Landscape size specimens are grown for the collector, homeowner, or landscape contractor/architect. The six acres at Rich's Foxwillow Pines lie in the terminal moraine where the kettle is highlighted as a major water feature. A 25-30 year old weeping ginkgo tree majestically reigns over the waterfall and two pools that feed into the pond under the holey boulder bridge

Rich is particularly fond of Asian plants and his own collection reflects his interest of 100 or more Pinus parviflora cultivars. Some of his best Asian plants are located in the rock garden that was originally constructed for the Illinois-Wisconsin Rock Garden Society meeting in 1992. The rock garden features sedums, semperviva, saxagrages, and alpine plants. Several display beds contain Hosta gardens with unique perennials and annuals beside the shade tolerant conifers. Collectors are enchanted with ten nursery beds where Rich's grafts are planted.

The Farm

Rich and Susan Eyre’s 1990 purchase of a 30-acre farm a few miles from the McConnell Rd. location expanded the nursery considerably.  Their renovated farmhouse is surrounded by some of Rich’s favorite garden conifers and rare trees.  Greenhouses hold an extensive collection of grafted trees and general nursery stock, plus the fields are planted with dwarf trees, small shrubs, landscape evergreens and specimen quality large trees.  There are spacious display areas for container plants and balled & burlapped trees.  Besides the garden conifers, many slow-growing, ornamental deciduous trees are available such as European beech, ginkgos, and a variety of maples such as Japanese maples, Korean maples, paperbark maples, nine bark maples and more.  At heart a collector, Rich always has an eye out for unusual trees, so a visitor to Rich’s Foxwillow Pines Nursery can expect to find something new and intriguing around the corner.  Give yourself plenty of time and bring appropriate shoes and clothes for searching for the perfect tree.

We have dwarf conifers for sale retail and wholesale. There are a variety of shapes, textures and colors available. Gardening with dwarf conifers adds interest to a garden by incorporating unusual growth habits: columnar (fastigiate), globe-shaped, vase-shaped, narrow or broad pyramid, prostrate, spreading, weeping (pendulous), mounding, flattened globe or nested shape, bun shape, irregular, erratic or pruned.  Dwarf conifers for sale are classified in four categories of growth: Miniatures (M) grow less than 1 inch per year, Dwarfs (D) grows 1-6’’ per year, Intermediates (I) grow 6-12’’ per year and Larges (L) grow more than 12’’ per year. 

We can help our customers be garden-artists painting the landscape with our expanded palette of plants. Bring photos of your yard or plat of survey and we will help you create a masterpiece!  Know how much sun those areas receive in the summer.  Do a drainage test to determine the permeability of the soil.  Then select plants with appropriate growth rates for that area.  You will create a sanctuary that your whole family can enjoy!

Slide Shows and Group Tours

Rich and Susan are available for speaking engagements with a variety of slide show presentations. Group tours of the nursery are available to horticulture classes, garden clubs, or other interested groups. Box lunches or local restaurants can be recommended. Rich looks forward to answering any specific questions on conifers or siting problems. He gives landscape design information at the nursery and he can come to your site for a donation.