When You Need a Backup Plan to the Backup Plan
When You Need a Backup Plan to the Backup Plan
Well, that was quite a week, wasn’t it?!
Late Tuesday, just before closing, the sky darkened and the wind picked up. Tornado warnings sounded on everyone’s phones. Our staff—and the one customer still shopping—ran to Suzi’s house (the big white one next to the store), our designated tornado safety spot.
Meanwhile, we learned our Landscape Team was stuck on a local road due to downed trees. Russ ran back to close up the greenhouses and snapped this photo of some ominous clouds from the hill.
His determination saved several greenhouses and plants—but the storm still won over greenhouse #14, ripping off the plastic and damaging the structure.
Thankfully, no one was hurt, and cleanup and repairs were done quickly. All this while still doing our best to serve customers and keep plants alive—despite three days without power or internet. A generator kept things going at the farm, and we have a backup plan for internet outages… but that backup plan wasn’t working either.
Sometimes, you just have to pivot and problem-solve in the moment, right?
If you stopped by on Wednesday or Thursday or tried to call us with no luck last week, we appreciate your patience! We plan and prepare for situations like this, but unexpected challenges still pop up. We didn’t let it stop us! We stayed open, kept things moving, and our Landscape Team still got out to do cleanups and plant installs.
I guess you could say our true backup plan is simple: keep going, find a way, and make things happen.
We know we were fortunate—many of our neighbors suffered far greater damage. We hope you made it through safely, with little or no harm to your property.
Now, we’re looking forward to sunnier days—and a reason to celebrate: Mother’s Day! It’s one of the most beautiful weeks at the greenhouse, and we love being your place to bring Mom, Grandma, or the mother-like figures in your life. Stroll the greenhouse, soak up the beauty, and make new memories together.
We know the Mother’s Day weekend visit has become a tradition for many of you, and we’re honored to be part of it.
Enjoy!
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.
