Native plant nursery nearly dries up under Pflugerville water restrictions

A beloved Pflugerville nursery known for its native plants says it may not survive the fallout from the city's monthslong water crisis. The water troubles come right after the young nursery finally hit its stride.

Greensleeves Nursery opened in Pflugerville in March of 2025, specializing in native, rare, and climate-resilient plants. In its first year, it built a devoted following, grew its inventory by about 60 percent, and regularly stocked more than 250 native species, according to owner Willy Glenn. Then, this spring, the city's water system fell apart at the worst possible time. System damage led to citywide restrictions.

Glenn and his team spent nights hauling well water from Del Valle in 250-gallon totes, then hand-watered the entire nursery by bucket. He explains that staff normally assigned to propagating new plants, customer service, loading, and general maintenance, were now focused mostly on just trying to water the plants and keep them alive. Glenn also points out that city residents who can't even water their existing plants are not exactly looking to buy more.

Thankfully, folks from out of town rallied to keep Greensleeves afloat.

"If it weren't for people from Austin, we would have been out of business months ago," he adds.

Word of the nursery's struggles spread this summer on social media and a recent sale marked 40 percent off native plants and 20 percent off everything else, drawing customers from as far as Georgetown, Round Rock, College Station, and Waco, says Glenn.

"The parking lot was full Saturday and Sunday," Glenn says. "Customers were helping us unload trucks from our growing facility as we were bringing them in. People were trying to just give us money, like, just hand us money for nothing."

What customers can get at Greensleeves, though, certainly amounts to more than nothing. According to Glenn, Greensleeves regularly stocks “north of 250” native plants. And native plants aren’t just decorative; according to the National Audubon Society, landscaping with native plants is vital to preserving biodiversity.

Because these plants also evolved alongside local climate patterns, they should require minimal maintenance and less water when they're in the ground (a benefit plants still at the nursery aren't getting right now).

Though the community’s involvement has helped, the water problems haven’t been solved. Glenn believes the waterline initially failed because construction crews damaged it in September 2025 when building another line into Lake Pflugerville. The City offers its own story in a press release. Ty Bishop, the city's public information officer, says the break already existed, and was not connected to the second line. The City won’t assign fault, or decide on legal action, until repairs are complete.

Pflugerville residents dealt with five breaks between September and March of 2025.

The restrictions landed squarely in March and April, a nursery's two biggest sales months of the entire year, and didn't ease until May 1. Comparing that stretch to the same months in 2025 — Greensleeves' first, barely-established month in business — Glenn estimates the nursery lost more than $60,000 in revenue.

The city didn't say whether any compensation or claims process is available, stating only that the restrictions were necessary to protect the water supply during "an unforeseen water infrastructure issue beyond the City's immediate control."

The city moved back to standard Stage 1 conservation on July 25, and expects the new secondary waterline operational by mid-September, with permanent repairs to the original pipeline complete by month's end.

Glenn says the sale didn't come close to making up for what the nursery lost this spring. He says Greensleeves could still close if things don’t turn around.

For now, Greensleeves remains open at 601 W. Pecan St. in downtown Pflugerville, still stocked with the native and rare plants that built its reputation. Those looking to help can shop in person and follow Greensleeves on Facebook for updates on future sales.