Laytonville’s Weathertop Nursery reopens under new ownership

MENDOCINO CO., 4/27/26 — When Weathertop Nursery in Laytonville closed in April 2025, a whole region mourned. With the reopening of this longtime institution on Saturday, a year later — at its old location on Harmon Drive across from Long Valley Market — the community turned out to celebrate. 

New owners Heather Benzing and David Barbee were hard at work, labeling and selling plants, superintending the several food stands, checking on people manning tables.

Long Valley Seedsavers Jane Evans and Valerie Edwards brought stacks of curated seeds of all kinds, seeds that have been specifically adapted for Long Valley’s hot summer days and cold summer nights. Laytonville can have 50-degree temperature differences in a twelve-hour period, which reduces pest pressures but can be hard on plants not adapted to dramatic swings.

Meanwhile, younger kids played in a bounce house while older tweens threw weighted ropes at painted crossbars. The band tuned up on a bandstand, and people munched hot polish sausages and lamb gyros.

A hyper-local resource

But the real focus was on the nursery products. Hundreds of vegetable and herb starts joined two tables-full of flowers. Potted trees and shrubs were on sale. David Barbee emphasized the store’s motto: Seed to Soul. Local seeds become local food for the community.

“We propagate everything here, and we use all Laytonville vendors,” explained Benzing. “We do not order from any commercial nurseries.”

Benzing and Barbee began negotiating with former owner Lurane Cassidy in the fall of 2024; the two had both been former Weathertop employees and knew Cassidy well. After selling another property to raise money, Benzing and Barbee were able to swing the deal last year and moved onto the space in June 2025. They began building inventory, selling produce from the Farmstead next door and also staged a few popups with plants and food trucks.

Next came bulk soil sales. Piles of dark soil loom the next yard over, next to a driveway and a tractor for loading. Benzing said that bulk soil had become unavailable in the region until Weathertop once again began stocking it. Long before Saturday’s grand opening, Barbee was loading soil into pickup beds by appointment, and people drive from all over the region for the black gold. The nursery also sells bagged soil.

Benzing has become adept at networking to help the region’s gardeners and farmers prosper.

“We want to provide resources to the community,” she explained. “We now stock irrigation parts, plants, soil and compost that were not available after Weathertop closed last April.”

She and Barbee have also made inroads on stock of other closed businesses in the region. When a grow shop in Willits shut down, the two began collaborating with the owner to once again provide fertilizers and other material. Similarly, when the hardware and building supply closed in Weathertop’s last iteration, Benzing bought up plumbing and other supplies. 

“We plan to offer all that material,” she said. “It’s sort of a one-stop shop. You can check to see if Weathertop has it first.”

That’s not all. The Farmstead part of the new name, in hoop houses next door, offers salad mixes and seasonal vegetables to individuals and area businesses, as well as duck and chicken eggs, meat chickens and more. Benzing and Barbee are intent on bringing a plethora of new resources to Laytonville’s gardeners, farmers and anyone hungry for hyper-local food.

The two have another long-term goal: self-employment. Benzing runs the afterschool program at Laytonville Elementary School, while Barbee works at the Chevron station in town. The hours at their new enterprise reflect that commitment to day jobs.

According to Benzing, from now until the second week of June, the nursery will open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. After school is out in June—and Benzing has more time—the hours will shift to Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

But, she added, “We can do soil and compost by appointment.” 

For soil and compost, call Barbee at 707-367-5830. For questions about plants, call Benzing at 707-354-4254. Or email Weathertopfarmstead@gmail.com

For more about the beloved business’ influence on Laytonville — and why this new iteration is so deeply welcomed — see tributes by this reporter and Mendocino Voice columnist Casey O’Neill.