Michelle Prouty, the owner of Corner Copia Garden Center, wears a t-shirt that says “Plant People” when she sits down to talk with us in the beautiful courtyard of her garden center at the corner of Highway and US 98. Her passion for plants and the business she created is evident because the dream of “doing what you love“ is now a reality for her.

Michelle grew up in Spanish Fort and attended Auburn University. We quickly assumed that she studied horticulture, but her story takes a winding road, and she earned her degree in marketing and statistics from the University of South Alabama.  

Always a plant lover, she began propagating plants in her mother’s greenhouse when she was only 5 years old. Her father built her a cutting box, and she continued cultivating her interest in growing things, so much so that in 4th grade at Spanish Fort Elementary School, she sold her plants at the Fall Family Festival.  

Fast forward to 2015, Michelle picks up her passion and begins designing container gardens for businesses in downtown Fairhope. She says that container gardening is one of her favorite things to design because it requires an artistic eye along with plant knowledge to understand the growth habits of the plants you use.  

She felt the tug of the earth and built a greenhouse on the back of her mother’s 5-acre property. She held Pop Up plant sales and had so many customers that it was hard to keep up. Venders started showing up to buy her plants. One of her vendors encouraged her to start a plant nursery, and that she could compete against the big box stores because of her extreme knowledge of plants and her willingness to teach others what and how to plant. She decided to take the leap and opened Corner Copia Gardens on State Highway 104 in March of 2017. When the old Wilsey Nursery property became available, she moved Corner Copia Gardens the current location in January of 2021.

The Garden Center has 4 greenhouses, a gift shop that sells all things botanical, pottery, wind chimes, garden art, and more, a corner store that houses soil, fertilizer, tools, and a multitude of gardening paraphernalia, and a beautiful courtyard with statuary, fountains and outdoor seating. They carry the largest variety of Native Plants in Mobile and Baldwin Counties and will not sell any invasive species. There is a special birding section that sells bird seed, bird feeders, and birdhouses made by the South Alabama Land Trust.   

My favorite section is the pollinator garden, which from an ecological point of view, is the most important thing we can do for the environment. Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are attracted to the colorful native plant species, and they were out in full force on this late September Day. 

  Corner Copia is offering many fun fall classes and events in October and Michelle says one of the most popular is Succulent Pumpkin making classes. Groups such as Book Clubs, Girls Nights Out, and business groups can make a reservation and in 2 minutes Michelle will teach them how to make a mini succulent garden inside of a pumpkin. All supplies are included. Guests can bring snacks and beverages and make a party out of it! There are also classes in Fall Gardening, Flower Printing, Repotting, and Seed Germination. 

The Corner Copia Gardens property has 30 acres of beautiful woodlands surrounding the nursery. Michelle has plans to add nature trails, with trees and plants identified and tagged, some picnic tables, and even event space.  She welcomes people to bring a lunch and enjoy the surroundings during business hours. When you are ready to start planting,  Michelle says November and December are the best months to plant trees and shrubs. Flowers for the fall include mums, pansies, snapdragons, and petunias, which she says will last through the winter if it's a mild one. 

She has her first wedding booked in late October. “Greenhouse weddings are a big thing now because when you have an event at a nursery, plants are already there as decorations.” She and her crew have been clearing and cleaning up the acreage “I want the bride and groom to be able to have the Creek at Turkey Branch as the backdrop for their wedding” she says. George Davis, the facilities manager, has extensive experience as an event planner in New Orleans and will be overseeing the wedding venue.

 Michelle is full of so much plant information. Her staff, her “plant people,” as she calls them, are highly trained and well versed in all things garden.  They are passionate about plants and if you visit Corner Copia Garden Center, you will be too! 

www.cornercopiagardens.com  251-517-0453