BEHIND THE SCENES: How Homegrown Happens
How Homegrown Happens
For the past month our Growers have been busy planning for the 2026 season, can you believe it? They put a lot of work into analyzing 2025, pouring over notes and photos from trade shows and trial gardens, flipping through catalogs, reading up on trends, diagramming hanging basket combos, calculating potting mix, counting pot and basket inventory, and placing orders with our suppliers.
Did you know we do over 80% of our business in spring? So we put a lot of care into our planning.
So when eager gardeners reach out to us in spring asking if we can grow something specific, sadly it’s much too late.
Before we even update our calendars to 2026, our planting spreadsheets are already complete. Beginning in January, each week of winter is planned, including deliveries, how many pots we need to fill and the greenhouse they’ll grow in. Sooo, if you have a special request, we have to hear from you the fall before!
We are here to grow for you, so TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!
It’s not always possible or practical to grow every request, but we definitely do our best. We’ve had years of experience and could grow what we like, but we know our tastes might be different than yours. We see that even amongst our team and have some good laughs over it.
For example, one person loves double coneflowers, while another can’t stand them! The plant opinions run strong around here, and I love the plant nerd debates with our passionate and talented team. We have a lot of lighthearted fun and I always learn something.
Thank you for the honor to grow for and with you.
Melanie has been with the family garden center business since 1999, gaining hands-on experience in nearly every aspect–from cashiering and greenhouse production to bookkeeping, perennial buying, marketing, and store management. Now serving as Finance and Marketing Director, she combines her expertise with a passion for growing the business. She and her husband, Russ, have loved seeing how plants, gardening, and beautiful landscapes bring joy to our community.
