Anna Evergreen celebrates 100 years

When Floyd Graham (Andy) Anderson purchased a farm in southern Illinois in 1925, he likely had no idea that it would not only still be in business 100 years later, but it would be operating as a 400-acre evergreen farm. Andy and his wife Blanche Griffith Anderson ran the business together until his death in 1962 and their son Rodney stepped in to take over the business, expanding the acreage until he died in 1991. Rodney’s wife Sandy owned Anna until her retirement and in 2016 when Tory Schwope acquired Anna Evergreen and added the farm to his portfolio of tree farm holdings as part of DCA Outdoor.

Originally beginning as Anna Strawberry Nursery, the Cobden, Illinois farm later came to be known for its fruit trees, roses, flowering shrubs and peonies in addition to its bumper crops of strawberry plants. During the 1950s, Anna again pivoted its production to take advantage of the demand for ornamental landscape plants and the nursery’s signature strawberry plants as well as peonies were dropped from its offering to focus on this new trend.

In 1963, Bill Berkheimer began working at Anna Nursery for just 70 cents per hour as a self-described “hired hand.” He worked nine hours per day Monday thru Friday and five hours on Saturday for a total of 50 hours per week, garnering him a weekly paycheck of $35. By 1969, Bill’s dedication paid off and he became the nursery manager. He retired in 2006 after more than 42 years of service to Anna.

Noting that when he joined the nursery, Anna nearly exclusively grew thirteen varieties of Japanese yews. Of those varieties, only four or five are still grown today in addition to junipers, but there were virtually no shade trees grown at Anna. By the time the 1970s and 1980s rolled around, taxus began to lose its popularity and the nursery began growing container trees.

“Yews fell out of favor a few years ago, but now they are back,” Bill said. “We called them the ‘Cadillac of evergreens’ because they lasted so long and there were no insect issues other than the occasional mealy bug.”

Crediting a loyal customer base, Bill said that when he retired, several of Anna’s customers were descendants of customers that he had when he began working there in 1963. He also credits the great sales team and the outstanding product that Anna grew during its 100-year longevity as a nursery.

In the late 1970s and 1980s, Rodney gave Anna Evergreen its signature terraced look that it still has today. He transformed the steep hills into workable fields to grow trees and also implemented soil and water conservation practices at the farm. Rodney was able to receive local waste material to turn into compost to utilize in nursery pots and he even experimented with the use of sheep and geese for controlling weeds.

These practices earned Rodney the honor of the Illinois Conservation Farmer of the Year in 1983. In fact, all of the operations managers that Anna has employed over the years have been very mindful of best conservation practices.

Bill Berkeheimer, a lifelong outdoorsman and conservationist, continued those conservation efforts and expanded them by utilizing companion crops during seasons with heavy rain plus cover crops on fallow land to improve the soil for future plantings. Before Bill’s retirement, current Operations Manager Jason Tabor spent several years learning about sustainable practices and Jason has now begun composting green waste to be applied back into the growing areas. Recycling used greenhouse film and nursery container initiatives have also come to be used in the past several years as has the use of prescribed fire in the natural areas of Anna which encourages native plant species to prosper and control the spread of non-invasive plants.

Jason began working at Anna in May of 1999 and he has seen rapid expansion of the container nursery as well as the addition of various new product lines that has helped modernize the selections offered by Anna Evergreen.

Saying that the stability of Anna’s operation managers over the years in addition to conservation practices, deer fencing, and a highly experienced staff have all helped reduce the challenges of operating a nursery. When Tory Schwope purchased the nursery in 2016, many modernizations were made to help increase efficiency.

“Most recently, when Tory purchased the farm we were able to update our equipment, pump stations, potting line, and material handling to help make our process more efficient. Most importantly, being a steward of the land is in the culture of all Operations Managers at Anna Evergreen,” Jason said.