Growing Business: Grizzly’s Hidden Falls Nursery & Landscaping ready to help residents with spring planting

By RACHEL STRICKLAND | Photos by BECKY STINEHOUR

Spring has nearly sprung in Central Texas, and folks are gearing up to plant their gardens and landscape their yards. Ben Gillilan, owner of Grizzly’s Hidden Falls Nursery & Landscaping in Nolanville, is ready to help in any way he can. Not only does his nursery offer many types of plants, shrubs and trees, but it’s also a quaint, peaceful destination for those who just want to relax in nature.

While in the Army, the Gillilans were stationed all over the world and across the United States, from Washington state to Virginia and Louisiana. But everywhere he went, his interest in the local flora and fauna stayed constant. When he retired in Texas, his interest in native plants and the great outdoors only grew, and he began to help others with the knowledge that he gained.

“People ask me questions, and I say, ‘I don’t know, but I’ll find out and get back to you.’ And that’s exactly what I did,” he said.

Gillilan retired from the Army in 2003, and his family settled in Central Texas. He initially worked for another local lawn care service for several years, but his dream was to start his own business. He eventually started Grizzly Lawn & Home and worked for a few years doing lawn care and small landscape jobs.

In 2015, an opportunity arose that he couldn’t pass up. The owner of a local nursery called Hidden Falls was selling and asked if Gillilan would be interested in purchasing it. Gillilan said he didn’t want the nursery to simply close because the area needed one, so he jumped in with both feet and purchased what is now called Grizzly’s Hidden Falls Nursery & Landscaping. Both he and his wife are veterans, and they have eight veterans working for them. His son is his right-hand man, and his daughter-in-law runs the nursery.

He says his knowledge of landscaping and Texas natives is all self-taught, born from a desire to help people to work with nature, not against it.

“I read every book I get my hands on, and I’ve talked with Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists, and the Native Plant Society of Texas. It’s just been a fun ride so far,” he said.

Before he purchased the nursery, his business’s focus was primarily on maintenance. They did lawn care, built decks and fences, and installed water features. So, he turned the purchase of the nursery into a learning environment, not just for his employees, but for his customers, a lot of whom come from all over the country.

Many people who are new to Texas don’t know where to start with gardening or landscaping.

“It’s been fun because I’ve gotten to educate people on what they should do versus what they think they can do because they’re not in Kansas anymore,” he said.

If you’re unsure where to start on your landscaping or gardening journey, Gillilan advises to simply give him a call talk about it.

“We’ll walk around your property, and we can talk about everything you want to do and make a master plan,” he said. “Or we can talk about where you should start and then you can build off that.”

Grizzly’s offers all sorts of landscaping services, such as designing and building decks and pergolas, installing outdoor lighting, building privacy fences, installing sod, and building water features, such as garden ponds.

“Some folks want to put in shrubs that they can keep trimmed round, square, triangle, or whatever they want to do with them,” he added.

Gillilan and his team also install xeriscapes, which literally means “dry landscaping,” and they’re very popular in hot, arid places like Texas. He explained that when xeriscaping, they use native plants that are used to the dry environment.

For those hoping to start gardening in 2026, Gillilan said you can start planting for the spring well before the season starts, but he advises to start small.

“A lot of people want to start big,” he said. “They want that instant ‘wow!’ They put too much stuff in their garden, but it’s not the size it’s going to be yet. Then it gets big and they’re like, ‘Oh my goodness, this took over my whole garden!’”

Some of his favorite plants are autumn sage and Blackfoot daisies, which attract butterflies. Flame acanthus is another favorite, and it can get up to four feet tall and is covered in little reddish-orange flowers. His favorite shrub is the Texas sage, which blooms right before it rains, and bees love it, so it’s great for pollination. If you’re more into arid plants, you can’t go wrong with a cactus. Gillilan recommends the spineless prickly pear, so you don’t have to worry about getting poked. A fan favorite of many customers is the red yucca, which sends up tall shoots of red flowers on top that hummingbirds love.

For the newbies hoping to start an edible garden this spring, some of the easiest plants to begin with are cherry or roma tomatoes, cucumbers and squash. Gillilan’s advice for tomatoes is to avoid over-planting them. He recommends no more than a six-pack of seeds.

“Don’t plant them six inches apart — plant them four to five feet apart, so you’ve got plenty of room.”

Lettuce is also an easy plant for beginners.

“You can plant it close your door if you want to use it in a salad frequently,” he said. “You can go out and snip it off, throw on your salad or sandwich, and it just grows back.”

He also advises that asparagus is easy to grow, but warns that you’ll never be able to get rid of it.

Grizzly’s Hidden Falls is more than just a nursery — it’s an experience. There are trees, shrubs, perennials, flowers, native plants, concrete statuary, pottery and metal art available for purchase, but there are also tons of fun hidden gems that enhance the experience. There’s a waterfall flowing out of a claw-foot bathtub resting in the bed of an old truck, as well as a 1952 Chevy with a waterfall coming out of the front of it going into a pond where kids love to fish. They’ve also covered almost the entire shopping area with a shade material so you don’t have to walk around in the blazing sun during the summer.

There’s a hiking trail that goes along the cow pasture and then leads back down along Nolan Creek. You can also sit and relax in the silo gazebo or walk around the greenhouse and peruse the succulents and tropical plants.

“There’s a variety of things that you can do — not just shop but come here and relax and get away from the stress of the world if you want to,” Gillilan said.

While he is a huge fan of all the nurseries in the area, he believes what sets Grizzly’s apart is that they’re a destination, not just a place to buy plants.

“You can visit with our parrot, Captain Jack, or walk around the pond or the creek, or sit down and listen to the waterfall and enjoy the butterflies floating all over the boat-turned-flower bed,” Gillilan said. “So, I think you get an experience here, more than just walking around and spending money. People tend to stick around, and they become family.”