I did not personally know Carl Ekstrom of Ekstrom Nursery but I was sad to learn he had passed away. I heard his name many times and knew that he was one of Oregon’s nursery industry legends. I doubt Carl Ekstrom would have remembered briefly meeting me but that moment has stuck with me for years.
Nearly a decade ago, Mr. Ekstrom was walking by our booth at the Farwest Show. I noticed this older unassuming man dressed like he was on
For those of you who only shop nurseries in the spring, you are short-changing yourself. It is really ideal to visit nurseries several times throughout the year. If you make an annual pilgrimage in spring, you are only seeing the things that bloom or look their best at that time. If you don't shop nurseries in, say March, you might miss the beautiful blooms of Pieris. The same goes if you don't shop nurseries in June, July or August. Miss this summer window and you miss the color offered by Cistus, Crocosmia, daylilies and Rudbekia. And the list goes on.
Another thought - visiting a nursery like ours (Pleasant Hill Nursery) or any other commercial grower-type nursery in late spring may seem
• WHO? • WHAT? • WHEN? Who is it? What exactly do they want? When do they need it? Over the years, I know I’ve driven my office staff crazy with my constant who, what, when requests. A customer calls searching for plants and I insist on knowing these answers.
At the wholesale level, it is difficult to ever answer a plant inquiry question without knowing more detail. “Who is it?” is very important for the simple reason that we have a very divergent customer base. At Pleasant Hill Nursery, we serve retail garden centers, brokers, landscapers and growers – just to name a few. Each of these customer groups have very different
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