Naples is famous for exactly two things: grape pie and the fall foliage that turns the hillsides surrounding this small Bristol Hills village into a postcard every October. Joseph's Wayside Market at 202 South Main Street has built its reputation at the intersection of both — a nursery and garden center that is also a farm market, anchored in a community where growing things is not a hobby but a way of life. The 2024 Gold for Best Gardening Store/Nursery, following Silver finishes in both 2023 and 2022, tracks an upward trajectory that reflects genuine investment in quality.

The nursery selection is the core draw: vibrant annuals and perennials selected for what actually thrives in the Finger Lakes microclimate, along with shrubs, trees, and landscaping materials that reflect the specific soil and weather conditions of the Bristol Hills area. The staff knowledge runs deep here — this is not a garden center staffed by seasonal teenagers reading plant tags. You can get real advice about what to plant where, what will survive the frost, and what will actually produce in Zone 5b-to-6a borderline conditions. The market side adds gardening tools, decorative items, and seasonal produce that round out the experience.

For visitors, Joseph's is the kind of stop that turns a Naples leaf-peeping drive into a half-day outing. The property itself is pleasant to wander, and the selection is broad enough that even non-gardeners find something to bring home. But for the serious growers who populate the hills and valleys around Naples, this is the source — the place you go in spring to stock up, the place you trust for advice, and the place you keep voting for because it keeps getting the important things right.