In our effort to interact/network with other businesses, Josh and I traveled south to Cottage Grove to visit Sustainable Agricultural Technologies, Inc. They specialize in vermicomposting (worm compost) and compost tea systems. Our friend, Michelle, works there and invited us down to see what was going on and see how we could use this in our business. The owner Bruce Elliott used to build destruction proof mailboxes. He grew tired of all the angry people calling to complain about the people who were smashing mailboxes and moved on to something new. Interested in vermicomposting, (worm composting) he called a guy in the San Juan Islands who built a worm bin called a worm wigwam
Today is Thanksgiving Day. Dave and I have so much to be grateful for in life and in our business at Pleasant Hill Nursery. We are immensely proud of our nursery. It has been nearly thirty years in the building process, many of those years were tough. Some were incredibly stressful. For those of you in the nursery business, you know this is not an easy way to make a living - especially this year.
When I returned to the office today, I was thrilled to see Nancy's latest container design. She created two planters that are now on each side of our office entrance. In the center of the pot, is a Boulevard Cypress ( Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Cyano Viridis' ) that is pruned up a ways to expose the lower trunks. Around the base of the plant, level with the container edge are a Wooly Thyme and Irish Moss. A simple design but it definitely makes a statement.
It really all comes down to food, at least for me. And what does this have to do with the nursery industry you ask? All of us that work here are cooks and have our specialties (and idiosyncrasies) and share food and recipes. I just had a delicious handful of pumpkin seeds, in the shell from a coworker. Yum. So where was I? Oh yes food. Our neighbors at the nursery are farmers and we get strawberries, green beans and corn from them. We grow a vegetable garden in the back for all to share in the bounty.
I often say this to people I know but I want to say it publicly. Pleasant Hill Nursery has the most amazing group of people working here. Every day I feel pride and gratitude for the employees that make up our team. They are passionate about what they do. They care about the customers we have. And they treat our business as if it were their own. As a business owner, what more can you ask?
