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animal refuge HELP SUPPORT THE STRAYS
ANIMAL MAGNETISM: Yellow Springs Nursery a Bloomin' Haven for Critters as well as Visitors reprinted from the dayton Daily News: Sunday May 20, 2001 Gary Stutzman has a growing family and it's pretty obvious he loves each member of the clan. There's Chester and Pete, Gracie and Zorreo. Not to mention Mr. B and Sweetie, Louise and Clark, Motley and Top Hat. You'll find the whole gang hanging out on a 20-acre piece of farmland known as Stutzman's Nursery, Garden Center and Landscaping along U.S. 68 north of Yellow Springs. Lots of other folks like hanging out there as well. They like following the little train as it makes it way around the miniature railway garden. They like stopping by the koi pond and seeing the large fish swim about. Kids love watching the waterfall and balancing on the stepping stones across the stream bed. Families enjoy checking out the family of Indian Runner ducks in the area known as the basin. "A lot of people come and meet their friends here," says Stutzman. "They like the park-like setting, they like to wander and get away from the office for a while." The flowers aren't the only ones showing off at Stutzman's Nursery.
Gracie, the ostrich , is one of Gary Stutzman's favorites. "She gets a real funny look on her face, then the egg drops about three feet to the ground. They don't break, though; they're as hard as a rock!" "Animals are plants with legs, and plants are animals without legs," says Stutzman, who is crazy about both. "Gregory's the one that started it all when we moved here in 1995," he says, waving at the pygmy goat standing in front of his shed.
"Wanna know a secret ?" asks one turkey to the others. "Life is great at Stutzman's! Lots of plants and animals everywhere! And the food is outstanding!"
"One kept escaping and going over to the neighbor's yard to lie in the vegetable gardens," says Stutzman. "The Clark County Health Department kept getting calls about him, because it was illegal to have pigs there. So we adopted him." "This is Pete, one of the roosters," he says. "The mother of one of our employees found him at a garage sale." The ostrich is a favorite. "I named her Gracie because she has this ballerina spin," says Stutzman. "She'll get going, spread her wings out, and do six or seven spins. Gracie is super-friendly. And she's really curious. If I try to do a construction project in here, she'll pull all of the tools out of the can." He's even delivered a baby llama named Zorreo. "He was 2 feet tall when he was born," says Stutzman, who borrowed a video of a llama birth to prepare for the big event. "All we really had to do was massage Daisy, to keep the process moving, and to stay calm and catch the baby. Daisy spit at me a couple of times while I was drying the baby off and putting iodine on the cord." The menagerie includes a number of animals who are happy to be petted. "One of the emus had been hand-raised and is very tame, and the goats and sheep are really friendly," says Stutzman, who works 16 hours a day this time of year and says he finds visits to his animal friends relaxing. It's not unusual for customers and area merchants to show up with donations of apples and grapes, berries and leafy greens. Veterinarian Scott Hosket has been generous with his time as well. It's no surprise that Stutzman has even created a cemetery on the grounds for animal friends who pass away. "I don't have headstones," says Stutzman, whose most recent loss was a turkey named Henny Penny, "but I know where everybody is."
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| Home | Hours | Inventory | Animal Refuge | Directions | Contact | Links | ADDRESS: 4550 U.S. Route 68 North, Yellow
Springs OH 45387 |
Though plants and flowers are obviously a major draw, regular customers say Stutzman's isn't just about picking out geraniums and impatiens or even harder-to-find floral varieties such as Orange Symphony osteospermum or Red Ace diascia. "It's just wonderful here," says Jennifer Berman, who is standing in front of the pasture gazing at a group of llamas. "We bought a place with a few acres and we're gardeners," says the Xenia woman. "We find the people here to be friendly, knowledgeable and environmentally minded. And they love their animals." For folks such as Berman and her husband, a trip to Stutzman's wouldn't be complete without a visit to the animal refuge. When the nursery outgrew its original downtown Yellow Springs location--first opened in 1983--Stutzman moved to the site on U.S. 68. He realized that in addition to stocking unusual garden supplies, he'd have room to welcome animals in need of a home. 
"Hi Sweetie...hi, hon," Stutzman says, stroking a black potbellied pig and beginning his daily stroll down animal lane. One by one he greets each adopted child - the horse and miniature donkey, the sheep and iguanas, the rhea and emus, the chickens and turkeys and ducks. As he approaches, there is great excitement - flapping and bleating and running around. Each animal has a name, and each has a story that Stutzman is happy to share with visitors. 
" It's just a wonderful life here," says Jennifer Berman of Xenia, visiting with a potbellied pig named Sweetie. The two pigs, he explains, were living in a small dog kennel in Springfield.