Special to the Sun
People want to be gardeners. Most people’s greatest memories are of times spent with their parents or grandparents in their gardens. It’s true that some of those memories come from being forced into gardening, mowing or doing outside work as a punishment for some broken rule, but often even those memories turn out to be good ones as the heat and pain fade with age. For some, the desire to spend time in the yard comes sooner than for others, but usually around early marriage or first child days are when making your space distinctively yours becomes your new objective.
Motivation comes from many places. Whether proving something to yourself, showing a child that you can grow veggies, possessing jaw dropping flowerbeds or having the greenest, weed free lawn on the street… gardening calls to us all.
I am someone who has had the opportunity to work in the business of gardening for my whole life. I was the 12-year-old kid at Green Oak Nursery in the ’70s who loaded your cars with fertilizer and soil bags. I’ll admit that, yes, some of those times spent toiling at Green Oak were punishment for some broken rule. However, over time, as I began to answer customers’ questions and my confidence grew, I developed a passion for being able to find answers to horticultural questions. This motivated me to pursue and earn a degree in horticulture from Mississippi State University. I also found a distinct psychological connection in people’s needs and style in the gardening world. I have seen all levels of gardener, from the extremely organized, same-thing-every-year kind of guy to the determined to get that green thumb that grandmother had lady. From all this I have derived that being a good gardener requires perseverance. A successful gardener is someone who is not afraid to try something, sometimes over and over until it works…that’s perseverance. Like exercise, gardening gives a feeling of accomplishment, satisfaction, self control, offers a healthier lifestyle and when you get old enough, even gives you something to brag about.
Speaking of bragging, our garden center, Martinson’s Garden Works, is one of only a few in the United States that grows its own bedding plants. Our goal in doing this is to have the best plants suited for Mississippi conditions and to always be fully stocked with larger, healthier, more beautiful plants that haven’t been sprayed with growth regulators. Growth regulators are widely used in the green industry to give plants a longer shelf life. This shelf life is necessary to profit margin when the plant is grown in Michigan and shipped to Mississippi and expected to sit on a rack in a dark truck for long periods of time. Growth regulators are about business, not about gardening and are detrimental to our declining honeybee population. Growth regulators, also called growth retardants, are just that. They retard the growth of the plant you are going out of your way to purchase, dig a hole for and put into the ground. Isn’t gardening supposed to be about making something grow, instead of about making something now grow? Not only that, but shopping at a big box store is where most garden mistakes are made. These stores bring in plants not suitable for our zone, offer little or no qualified help, and in many cases are now more expensive than most real garden centers.
Try to keep in mind that when choosing to shop at a local garden center over a big box store, that these mom & pop stores are often where many of your sons and daughters get their first jobs. Garden Works has hired many young people over the years. We believe it’s important to give young people a chance to participate in the working world because of all the positive elements that usually result for them, personally. It’s good to teach them how to conduct themselves in a fun work place environment. Learning about plants and caring for plants is almost always a positive life attribute, no matter your age.
For 42 years I have worked at or owned a garden center or greenhouse operation. I have had time to listen to people’s needs and have seen all kinds of styles that can be imagined. I have had time to talk to every yardman in town and meet every self-proclaimed horticultural guru around here. Let me tell you that gardeners on every level are quite the characters. Gardening is the one thing in life that allows you to totally do it your way, if you’re up for a little scrutiny.
I have taken the opportunity to travel to most states in our country on garden center tours over the years. Out of the nearly 100 nurseries I have visited, about 75 percent of them are family owned and operated. When husbands, wives and children work together, the store they create is often a completely unique and interesting shopping space. Personal styles and passion for gardening add depth and substance to the customers’ shopping experience. I can think of five family-run nurseries in our tri- county area.
I am aware that entering a garden center can be daunting, even to, maybe especially to, the person with the greatest, most well laid out plan. I know because I’m a gardener too. It is difficult to leave Garden Works every day with just the things on my list. I usually wind up hauling a trailer. I also shop at other nurseries in town. This is how I’ve often found treasures that I’ve not seen before…perseverance. Garden centers have every soil imaginable, chemicals with long names, different mulches, and the plants…oh my goodness. The trick is to find a garden center staff member whose opinions you trust that will spend a little time with you on your visits. Every garden center has employees that are passionate about gardening. They wouldn’t be there, otherwise. Garden center work is not glorious or for the faint of heart. I challenge any industry that suggests that our work conditions are not as equally demanding. So, please excuse us if we are a little sweaty, dirty and kooky, but we are gardeners.
The great garden centers are the last of businesses that offer help from the minute you get out of your car, help you with your choices of plants, box them up, educate you, and load your car for you after you’ve checked out. Yes, we will help you obtain the things on your list, but we are also going to show you some new things that you just need to know about. Garden centers want you to be successful in your perseverance. A discouraged gardener is one that is not having fun and will soon hang up the shovel and call a mowed lawn good enough. To help you be successful in your perseverance we are going to educate you on soil preparation, correct planting instruction, watering practices, fertilization and ongoing maintenance for the health of the plants you’ve chosen. We are going to show you how to properly apply chemicals in those situations that they are needed. We are going to try to show you practices that will keep your lawn and plants healthy so little or no chemicals are necessary. Visiting a garden center is like going to the doctor except there’s no waiting room and you won’t have to take out a loan for our free advice. Have a little fun when you visit a nursery, ask some questions, ask to be shown around. Make your visit all it can be by interacting with the staff. I see people two or three times a week that visit Garden Works solely because its their happy place in this crazy, new world we are all living in. Most garden centers I’ve visited have a retro feeling about them…almost like finding that last gas station that fills up your car and checks under your hood. If you’re ready to take a trip and never leave the farm, put on your perseverance pants, some comfortable walking shoes and visit all your local garden centers.
(photo) Allen and Mimi Martinson
