The other nursery we visited last Sunday was Magnolia Garden Center in Seattle. I had never been to this nursery and was quite excited to go. We needed the aid of the GPS unit to find the place since we don’t frequent the Magnolia area.
I was surprised to see the place as we drove up. We had just been at Swanson’s and Magnolia was such a change of pace. Much smaller and as we walked in we were greeted immediately. It was just a “good afternoon,” but still a greeting.
We did a little browsing and they had a nice selection of edibles. The layout of the nursery was rather confusing as there is nursery material on both sides of the nursery with the gift shop in the middle.
The gift shop portion of the store was nice with a friendly lady who greeted us and chatted with our son. We quickly browsed the nursery stock, but weren’t in the market for anything large so we mostly skipped that part. We made our way into the garden center shop and were greeted with the familiar smell of chemical fertilizers. This was a bit of a disappointment for me, but I do understand that it is the norm in nurseries. Once again the staff was friendly and that was rather refreshing.
On our way out I took one last browse around the annuals and perennials area. As I was looking I noticed a small hanging basket. The price on the basket was $49.99. I was shocked. The plant was barely cresting the edge of the pot. It has 1 small bloom on it. I hadn’t really been paying attention to the other prices in the store, but this one was enough to make me not want to return. I’ve never seen a nursery with such grossly over priced hanging baskets before.
Will I go back? Likely no. It may be nice if I lived in the area, but it isn’t something I would make a special trip to.
It is nursery season and once again I’m out an about. This year I have less time to get out to visit nurseries because I spend half of the weekend in one. You would also think that since I work in a nursery I would 1) have no need to go to other nurseries or 2) would be so sick of them that I wouldn’t want to go. On the contrary.
The nursery I work in is small and although we can order just about everything it is fun to go to other nurseries. I also love to garden. We are talking looove. It is what I do. Hell, I visit the nursery I work in on my days off.
This week you’ll hear about two nurseries we visited over the weekend. Both were in Seattle and very different from each other.
The first is Swanson’s Nursery. This ranks right up there with Molbak’s in size. Not quite that large, but enough to get lost in. I’ve never had the opportunity to spend more than an hour in Swanson’s simply because by the time we get up to Seattle, have lunch and get to the nursery I’m already tired. Today was not different. The fact that it was cold didn’t help either.
Like I mentioned, Swanson’s is huge. They have a lovely little cafe, many indoor shopping areas and it seems that every time I visit there is a new structure that has been built over the winter. Their selection of plant material is vast and this trip we focused on tomato plants, herbs and veggies. They had at least 15 different kinds of oregano alone. It was a little much.
Overall, I love Swanson’s. It is something out of the ordinary since none of the nurseries in the Tacoma area are quite that large. It is closer to us than Molbak’s and in a part of Seattle that I love visiting anyway. The nursery is clean and the quality of the plant material is top notch.
Like every nursery there are a few drawbacks. Their prices are a little high for my taste. They charge $3.99 on average for a 4″ plant and most perennials are more than that. Their 3″ tomatoes were 3 for $12 and gallons were $6 each. Heirloom or not. That is too high, so I stuck with the 4″.
The other think I don’t care for at Swanson’s is their customer service. It seems rather impersonal to me. While the store was rather busy when we were there we were not greeted by a single employee and the cashier was not warm and friendly. This is the trouble with the larger nurseries.
Will I go back? Of course. It is a fun trip up north and worth it. However, next time I go I will go on a warm day and plan to go when I can spend a good amount of time (and have some money).
I was 23 when I first started working in the nursery business. Hard to believe it has been over 10 years. That first job was in a retail garden center in Leawood, KS. I had just quit my job with a major greeting card company and was driving aimlessly around town wondering what I had just done and what the heck I was going to do next. At the time my husband was an archaeologist and I’m here to tell you they don’t bring in the big bucks. I was the primary bread winner and I had just thrown that all away. I did it for the good of my health and marriage and it wouldn’t be the last time I did that.
There was a “now hiring” sign in the window of an Earl May Nursery & Garden Center. I liked plants so I thought I would give it a go. In reality I wanted to be an interior designer, but an interior design firm had just informed me that I really needed to go to school for that and I needed a job right at that moment. The nursery seem as good of job as any. I filled out an application, went home and the phone was ringing. It was the nursery calling to schedule an interview. I didn’t have anything to do so I hopped back in the car and had an interview. The assistant manager hired me on the spot. Thus began my career in the horticulture industry. Little did I know how it would change my life.
I worked for Earl May for about 9 months before moving back to Washington State. Once back in Washington I enrolled in school at South Puget Sound Community College. Two years later I graduated from their technical program with a degree in horticulture. In the years since that first interview with Earl May I’ve been a nursery grunt, an assistant manager, a buyer, a landscape designer and an operations manager. Six years ago I gave it all up to try to become a mom.
Now just then you did the math and figured that my “career” in horticulture was only 5 years long. This is partially true. When I gave up working at the tropical greenhouse I did stay home for a while. Once I got bored with that I restarted my landscape design business. I’ve also consulted along the way and then started this blog. However, most of what I did in the nursery business I did when I was in my 20’s.
Earlier this year I decided that I needed something to occupy my time and make a little extra money. Not that I don’t like staying home with my child, but there comes a point when adult interaction is a must. I sought out a job in a retail garden center at the beginning of February. It wasn’t until this week that I finally got started.
I was recently hired by a local nursery and I quickly learned that nursery work is much like riding a bicycle. I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to remember the plants or their care. The biggest learning curve I face is the onslaught of new products on the market. Especially those in the organics genre. I garden organically, but I do so by benign neglect. Much of what I was taught in school about organics was soil health, soil health, soil health. While this is a major factor in organic gardening, there are new advances in products to help the gardener along. I have much to learn from these young boys that I’m working for.
I have come to realize that while I am by no means old, a 33 year old body is not a 23 year old body. Let’s just say I sleep well at night. I think it is mostly the standing and the mental stimulation of having to think to answer questions on a constant basis. The questions are much more complicated than, “mom, can you get my legos out of the garage.”
I am loving this new adventure in life. It reminds me of when I was young, but not in a bad way. It gets me out of the house and interacting with people. It lets me flex my plant muscles, both internally and externally. And most of all it lets me meet the gardening community of Tacoma. So if you are out and about and in need of gardening assistance stop by Gardensphere in the Proctor district Wednesday or Thursday mornings or anytime on Saturday to say hello. Of course you could stop by other times too just to shop, Gabe & Travis would like the business.
Today, one of those rare March days with blinding sunlight. Typically in our area, brief glimpses through filtered clouds is as good as it gets. But today brought spectacular weather for mother and daughter to stroll some of the local nurseries. Adding a lengthy array of plants to their list of wants. If it one were to decide which of us were more “needy” when it pertains to gardening, you’d better flip a coin. Watson’s and Vassey’s Nursery, the two of which we visited today, both offered a great variety for both the novice and advanced gardener. I purchasing that much desired Witch Hazel and Lisa another orchid. Leaving the nursery’s behind, we began touring parts of Tacoma, a city of which Lisa takes much pride in. As she should, it has come a long way from the 1980’s, truly transforming into a delightful urban neighborhood. If you have never visited the W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory, I highly recommend that you do. Delightfully tropical in nature while hanging heavy in the air an abundance of scents. Truly a must see! What a beautiful day to share…
The sun is shining and I’m inspired to head out into the garden. In all honest that’s what i really should be doing, but sadly, real work is calling my name. That and a trip to the peninsula this weekend. To brighten my spirits I did take a little trip to one of my favorite garden centers for some indoor inspiration.
Yesterday I loaded up the 4 year old into the car and informed him that we were going to a plant store. He immediately thought we were returning to the Flower and Garden Show. I had to break it to him that mommy could only handle such an event with a small child once a year. This time we weren’t going where it was so busy. 20 minutes down the road we arrived at Watson’s Greenhouse and Nursery.
I first encountered Watson’s during a Greenhouse Production class in college. The point was to visit a retail greenhouse facility that grew a portion of their own plant material. It also happens that Watson’s has a state of the art greenhouse for their retail facility along with retractable roof grow buildings. The business started as a small U-Pick operation in the Puyallup Valley in 1974. Dan Watson is the proprietor of the business and runs this outstanding nursery in conjunction with his daughters. They remodeled their facility and replaced it with a 32,500 sq. ft. glass and steel Belgian greenhouse. It is one of the most remarkable structures I’ve ever seen. I could go on and on about the building, but I’m a greenhouse junkie. However, even a non-greenhouse enthusiast would be impressed by Watson’s.
Since this nursery is not located close to my home it is not one that I frequent very often. It is a little out of the way and can be difficult to find if you aren’t paying attention. The good news is once you get on the right road you can’t miss it.
The things I love about Watson’s are the variety of plant material year round, they keep all of their chemicals outside and every so often a furry little friend will walk up next to you and purr. I have to say, I’m a sucker for a nursery with a shop cat. The employees at Watson’s keep the display areas spotless. Not a weed to be found. Never a dead plant and plants always in bloom. The displays are artfully created and the staff is always pleasant. What’s more, you can take a break from your shopping and grab a cup of coffee or a quick lunch. The cafe in the retail store serves delicious sandwiches and treats. It was one of my favorite places to grab lunch when I worked at a wholesale greenhouse right down the street.
Prices at Watson’s are fairly comperable to that of other high end retail operations. But with the higher price comes quality. They purchase their plant material from some of the best growers in the area and the care given to plants once they arrive at Watson’s is top notch. In addition to the usual trees, shrubs, annuals and perennials, Watson’s carries the largest selection of indoor plants. Many of their indoor tropicals come from Burnaby Lake Greenhouses and I can speak from experience to the quality of Burnaby’s plants. I walked out yesterday with 3 little 4″ houseplants to brighten the corners of my office.
Watson’s is on the top of my list of nurseries to visit in Pierce County. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.
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