Show & tell

Nurseries’ display gardens let the plants do the talking, encouraging visits and sales

Story and Photos by Elizabeth Petersen

Nothing sells plants better than the plants themselves. Just ask David Schreiner, who sees many benefits to sharing Schreiner’s Iris Gardens’ display garden with retail and wholesale customers and the general public. The display garden showcases hundreds of varieties of bearded iris, which draw admirers from far and wide when in bloom. “We have found that if people can only see these irises in real life, they will sell themselves,” Schreiner said. “They also benefit wholesale customers, who visit to select their varietal listings live in the gardens and then send their own photographers to take pictures. In fact, one of our large wholesale customers in Medford sends up staff photographers each year.”

Mixed into the parklike setting with other plants, including perennials, vines, shrubs and trees, the blooming irises make bright, striking compositions. “It serves both sides of our business in a complementary fashion,” said Schreiner, but the value of the display garden is even greater than that. “To be honest, we put a lot of effort into our display gardens simply for the fun of sharing Mother Nature's beauty with the public at large.” The garden is a regular destination for retirement home groups and others who appreciate a spring outing to enjoy the flowers and pause for a sack lunch. Schreiner says that sunset is pretty spectacular surrounded by blooming irises too. “It is a labor of love in addition to the normal business aspects of any commercial enterprise,” he added.

During May and June, the 10-acre garden welcomes visitors, who this year viewed more than 500 named varieties in bloom.

Family tradition grows at Van Veen Nursery

When Theodore Van Veen Sr. started growing nursery stock in southeast Portland in 1926, propagators relied on grafting and layering to expand their inventory. Van Veen, though, saw the potential of economically rooting rhododendrons from cuttings, so he experimented with rooting dips and bottom heat — both of which were ahead of his time. His contributions as a progressive nurseryman, hybridizer and charter member of the American Rhododendron Society, included a number of named crosses. For instance, R. ‘Anna Rose Whitney’ is a variety with worldwide popularity; ‘Autumn Gold,’ a selection said to be Van Veen’s personal “pride and joy,” has been used as a parent in many other hybrids; and R. ‘Maryke,’ a prolifically blooming plant with domed trusses in a fascinating blend of colors, was named for his youngest daughter.

Kathy Van Veen makes sure the entrance, along with the rest of the nursery’s displays, artfully show off the products the nursery sells. »

Granddaughter Kathy Van Veen continues tradition at the family nursery — a sport of R. ‘Jean Marie de Montague’ with novel coloration bears her name — and, like her father, Oregon Nurseries Hall of Famer Ted Van Veen, and grandfather Theodore, Kathy loves the plants she grows. “We are mostly wholesale and most of our customers are very far away,” Van Veen said, “but the neighbors love the spring bloom.”

Employee Vicki Molina said, “Devoted plant people come to see the plants, and we look forward to a hosting a tour for the Royal Horticultural Society next year.” Visitors will see mature plants, including fragrant R. maddeniis, which offer an exquisite perfume in early May. Other flora shape the nursery into a garden too, including plants that Ted Van Veen displayed at the first Farwest Show and then planted in the nursery. Abies balsamea ‘Nana,’ Pinus mugo and Oxydendrum arboreum from that first show grow in the garden and bear testament to the history of the nursery. Seedling Kousa dogwoods put on a splendid display in later spring, and a new bed showcases Van Veen Rhododendron introductions.

« A mature specimen of Abies balsamea ‘Nana,’ accompanied by Rhododendron ‘Hallelujah,’ is a tribute and testament to nursery founder Ted Van Veen, an Oregon Nurseries Hall of Famer and original member of the Farwest Show Committee. The conifer was displayed at the very first Farwest Show, now in its 33rd year. Van Veen died in 2004.

The layout of the nursery has changed gradually, too. Originally lined up in straight rows, the plants eventually overgrew the paths, which were rearranged to accommodate the prized plants. This organic approach extends beyond design at the nursery, where creative environmental methods of reuse and recycling include a system of collecting rainwater in recycled barrels. The water can then be pumped through recycled hoses to irrigate a new system of raised beds, also built from recycled materials. “Environmental people come to tour the nursery, too, curious about our almost completely organic operation,” Molina said. The nursery receives loads of chips from tree services for use as mulch; it fertilizes with composted horse manure, also donated; and the field irrigation system allows for maximum water conservation. Frogs living in the greenhouses control insects and seven resident cats prowl for other types of pests.

Specialty plants and woodland at Bloom River Gardens

Mark Bloom has grown plants for the wholesale market for a long time on his 35-acre chunk of land above the McKenzie River east of Eugene, Ore. In the early years, the business focused on well-known, high-demand rhododendrons, azaleas and natives for use in “somewhat generic” landscape schemes. But as years passed and wife Val Bloom joined forces with Mark, interest in a more diverse plant palette moved the enterprise toward more specialized stock, and in 1998, the Blooms launched a new, mostly mail-order business. It needed a new name, image and logo. “We wanted to make sure customers took us seriously,” said Mark Bloom, whose earlier business name, Fruit of the Bloom, sparked near-certain snickers.

Bloom River Gardens, the more sophisticated moniker for more sophisticated plant offerings, now specializes in unique plants with exciting color and texture, shapes and sizes. “Our plants appeal to Renaissance landscapers,” Mark Bloom explained. “Designers who take an artistic approach, who view landscapes as art, as poetry, appreciate the diversity of our plants.”

Even before the name change, Mark and Val combined complementary talents to build a gorgeous garden. Mark knows plants, but he credits Val with the vision and creative composition that inspired the gardens. The two clearly work well as a team. “Our garden is an expression of us,” Val Bloom said. “That the garden is also a great way to show what we grow is icing.” The story of creating the garden has a humorous, distinctly human element.

For years, these plant lovers had visions of lovely gardens, but other demands always took priority. “We had set aside large numbers of trees and shrubs in the nursery for our future landscape,” Val Bloom said. “Every year the plants grew larger, and each spring we moved them into bigger pots. There was never time for gardening.”

« The Blooms’ dog and cat, Charlie and Woody, find the stone bench area a nice place to relax, as do nursery visitors.

As fortune would have it, the display garden burst onto the scene 10 years ago, after the Eugene-area hardy plant group asked Mark and Val to open their “garden” for a study weekend. “Why not?” they thought, knowing full well that there was no garden. “We have eight months to build it, and we have plenty of mature plant material.” Val Bloom quickly penned a description of the garden, “pure fiction,” she said, so promotional materials could go out ahead of the event. The rest of the story may be predictable: Everything was harder and took longer than expected; the months sped by; winter slowed progress, and the demands of the business kept the garden just out of reach. With only two weeks before the study weekend, “it was time to call out the reserves. Family, friends, neighbors, employees and unwitting passers-by were enlisted,” Val Bloom recalled. “We were still planting heathers on the morning of the event,” she said, but the garden, the fictional garden, had become fact.

“The terraces were planted; roses and perennials were in full bloom, and one agreeable clematis had made it to the top of the arbor. A weathered wooden bench posed an invitation to rest in the shade among the ferns,” Bloom continued. “The stone wall was there, and it even had a little moss growing on it. An inviting path disappeared into the forest, and Mark’s newly finished steps descended through a hillside of heather toward our little creek, now burbling happily toward the pond.”

Mark and Val welcomed the study group, and visitors admired the gorgeous setting, the mature plants and the artistic design, but the hectic process remained a secret. During the 10 years since, the garden has expanded in all directions at a more modest pace. You can visit Bloom River Gardens by appointment, and your tour will certainly be more leisurely than the formation of an instant garden where none existed before.

Committed to trees

Twenty-one years ago, J. Frank Schmidt Jr. made a visionary move. He dedicated 10 acres of highly visible, high-quality production land to establish an arboretum showcasing the trees grown by his Boring, Ore.-based J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. Today, the arboretum that bears his name houses well over 800 plant species, varieties and cultivars, including most of the trees and shrubs listed in the company’s catalogs and reference guide.

Mature trees, clearly labeled with Latin and common names and grouped by genus (or in the case of larger genera, by species) reach sky-high in the beautiful parklike setting. They provide excellent opportunities for customers, mostly wholesale growers and retail garden centers, to view them. Landscape architects, urban foresters, horticulturists and other tree professionals, including garden writers and college students, are also invited to view the collection.

« An aerial view of the Schmidt Jr. Arboretum resembles a golf course, but with a much wider variety of beautiful trees.

“The arboretum is a great resource,” said director of marketing Nancy Buley, who finds inspiration there for the plant descriptions she writes for company publications. “Being able to see specific variations among the cultivars, whether in bark, leaf shape or shades of color, makes the arboretum a living reference library.” Trees earn a place in the arboretum as soon as they have proved themselves and entered production. That way, new introductions, such as 2005 introduction Malus ‘JFS-KW5’ (Royal Raindrops crabapple), can be viewed in a landscape setting just as they reach the marketplace.

Another important use for the arboretum is the ability to photograph the new introductions and mature specimens of specific cultivars for use on picture tags and posters, in catalogs and other company publications and on the company’s Web site. Additionally, employees are able to make ongoing performance observations of the trees over time, and the arboretum is an important teaching tool used to familiarize sales staff and other employees with the product line. Not only that, it provides a beautiful setting for entertaining customers, Buley said.

» The entrance to Monrovia’s Dayton, Ore., growing operation is the first clue to visitors that they are about to enter a special place.

The basic design and layout were set in 1984, and trees have been added regularly ever since. The arboretum took on new definition in 1996, when a picnic structure and fence were built in anticipation of the nursery’s 50th anniversary. “Our arboretum is a wonderful place to be, regardless of the season.” said Buley, who invites those interested to contact the office for an appointment. “The deciduous collection is complemented by numerous conifers and an understory of flowering shrubs and garden plants. Unique foliage, fruit, shape and character create a show that changes daily throughout the year,” she added. For instance, late summer provides the opportunity to compare foliage colors and the effect of heat stress on various cultivars. Fall color peaks during the third and fourth week of October, and crabapples put on an excellent show of fruit from October to December. Winter reveals the beautiful structure unique to each variety.

Elizabeth Petersen writes for gardeners and garden businesses; she coaches students and writers; and she chairs the Oregon Plant A Row for the Hungry (PAR) project. Contact her at gardenwrite@comcast.net.

View this article's Photo Galleries:

• Bloom River Gardens
• J. Frank Schmidt Jr. Arboretum
• Monrovia
• Schreiner's Iris Gardens
• Van Veen Nursery

Digger magazine is produced by the Oregon Association of Nurseries Publications Department. publications@oan.org