The Barton Springs Nursery has long been a bright green fixture on Bee Cave Road, but its strongest roots into the community are its owners, Bernardine and Conrad Bering.

They opened their doors on a leased property on Barton Springs Road in 1986, and then moved on to their own land in West Lake Hills in 1991. 

“Conrad’s told me on several occasions that this is what he was put here to do,” Bernardine said. 

In the simplest terms, he’s the muscle and she’s the mind. He spends about 80 hours a week splitting time between the four-acre nursery on Bee Cave Road and the 20-acre growing location near the airport that will soon be a wholesale business. 

“She’s the one that put the whole business plan together that sold the SBA on the loan,” Conrad said. “She’s been the brains to keep it alive, and I just keep it going.”

“We need each other,” she added. 

The two strongest philosophies that have kept their business afloat come recession and low water are their overwhelming desire to make sure their customers have successful gardens and their dedication to water conservation. 

“You’re going to lose customers if the plants you sell them die. And we don’t want to hear they died, those are our children that we raised,” Conrad said. 

He can rattle off the four major soil types found in the Austin area and can typically name off the top of his head the soil type at any address or neighborhood and come up with a slew of plant suggestions for that home. His impressive knowledge of the area is second only to his dedication.

When a customer wants a native plant that only grows in the wild, he goes out into the woods to find seeds or take cuttings to cultivate the species. And when a plant has been at the nursery too long and begins to decline in a pot, he takes it home for a refreshing stay in the Bering’s personal garden so that it can thrive. 

“It’s really about educating people,” he said. “You can’t grow plants that need sun in the shade. When you pick the right plant for the right spot, the plant does most of the work.”

The couple put that same dedication into making their business as environmentally friendly as possible, which has in turn made it one of the most welcoming places in the area to all manners of         life. 

“We have a complete water reclamation system,” Bernardine said. 

The property slopes slightly down hill from Bee Cave Road. Troughs that line each row of plants and run along side their driveway run into collection pools that can hold nearly 30,000 gallons of water. That water is then pumped back into the irrigation systems through a system the Berings built.

“In the rainy, winter months, our water bill is about $20,” she said. 

That system demands that their gardening practices be organic, and the Berings happily comply. If they used chemicals to keep the pests away, those elements would build up in the recycled water and eventually begin killing the plants. 

“The Texas Department of Agriculture that comes out to evaluate us said there are more butterflies at his nursery than they’ve ever seen,” Bernardine said. 

A short walk through the property confirms that as frogs, goldfish, dragonflies and hummingbirds make their presence known. Lately Bernardine has been encouraging Conrad to plant more flora that attracts the brightly colored dragonflies to the area. 

Having been business partners nearly as long as they’ve been married, they both say that the working hours have only strengthened their relationship.

“We have a clear division of labor,” Bernardine said. 

“She doesn’t mess with the plants and I don’t mess with her pots,” Conrad added. “And I don’t have to do any paperwork so I’m not going to fight over that.”

While the nursery stuck mainly to plants in the beginning, it’s expanded, under Bernardine’s watchful eye, into an ecletic garden shop where customers can find everything from wind chimes to patio furniture. 

“We’re just eclectic, we like to try to keep things changing,” she said. “We’re not trying to compete head on with other nurseries, we’re trying to be unique. Customers want to come back just to see what’s new here.”

In addition to the thousands of plants they’ve sent off to happy homes, the Berings raised two daughters: Hannah, who is currently a senior at Westlake High School; and Moira, who is studying at Texas Tech University. 

While they said they couldn’t get the girls interested in gardening as children, they’ve been excited to see their oldest start her first garden at school. 

“It started because she likes basil so she planted it,” Bernardine said. “I’m hoping we’ll see her learn to love gardening. She calls me now for advice or to ask what’s the name of this plant.”

For more information on the Berings and their store visit www.bartonspringsnursery.net.