ROCKPORT — There’s just no denying spring is here when you see Plants Unlimited, 629 Commercial Street, setting up shop for the summer season and putting the pansies out. Emily Buck, general manager of Plants Unlimited, said the pansies are here and they are the first official plants of spring.

“We have lots of different pansies of different shapes and sizes, Johnny Jump Ups as well.” she said. “They actually took a heavy snow a week ago when we got that surprise six inches, and they were covered; but, they’re just fine now as you can see.”

Plants Unlimited is in the process of setting up the whole nursery and getting ready for a busy time.

“Starting this next week, we have seven or eight trucks coming of nursery stock,” she said. “A lot of our perennials are field-grown in northern Maine and I just got the word this morning that the frost is out of the ground there, so we should be seeing those next week.”

And as the name implies, there are shrubs and trees, herbs and vegetables, potting needs and fertilizer.

“We are a full service garden center and we take pride in having knowledgeable staff that can help you with any problem that might arise,” said Buck. “We’ve been in this location for 30 years and prior to that we were just up the road.”

The garden center sits on the site of the former Rockland Drive-In that closed its doors in 1985. The drive in could accommodate 400 cars and was in business from 1955 to 1985 after Hurricane Edna destroyed the original Drive-In in 1954. Plants Unlimited used parts of the old drive-in when they purchased the property.

“The property sat vacant for a while before we purchased it,” Buck said. “Actually, our shop is still the old concession stand and the arbor that wraps around the shop was made from the wood of the original movie screen.”

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