As the lead nursery manager at Old Glory Wholesale Nursery in Maryland, Hailey Clark enjoys testing her limits and learning more about the industry.
Katie McDaniel: How did you get started in the horticulture industry?
Hailey Clark: I’ve always been in the agriculture industry. I grew up on a farm and milked cows until I was 18 years old. My dad’s side of the family were dairy farmers, and my mom was a horticulturist. She had a couple of greenhouses. Right before I was born, she stopped, but my mom always kept me around plants. She taught me which plants you can eat and which plants you can’t. I would play with the neighborhood kids and eat wine berries or chew on chives, and the neighborhood kids’ parents would be like, ‘you need to watch her; she’s going to eat something.’ And my mom was like, ‘she knows what she’s doing.’ One time she had mint and put it in a glass of water and it rooted. After I saw her do that, I was around six years old, I started cutting everything and putting it in water trying to propagate everything.
I went to the University of Maryland. I was in the Institute of Applied Agriculture. Part of the program is you do an internship, and I interned at Sun Nurseries. I was there for about six years. While I was there, I also got my CPH, certified professional horticulturist. I also worked on farms and in greenhouses growing herbs. I was a florist for a little bit and worked at farmers markets. After I was at Sun Nurseries for a while, I met Rob Conaway and Julia Keyser, co-owners of Old Glory Wholesale Nursery. They were looking for a nursery manager; that’s how I got here.
KM: What is your favorite part of being the lead nursery manager?
HC: Every day is a different day, and I’m constantly learning something new. I’m growing into the position, working hard at it, learning and not being afraid to hop on the big trucks and drive to Virginia or hopping in the machines, so I would say that’s my favorite part. It’s a lot of testing. It’s not always comfortable, but it tests your limits. I think that is one of my favorite things — my limits being tested and seeing what I can do.
KM: What does your day-to-day look like?
HC: We’re small, so I do a little bit of everything. We get trucks in almost every single day. I’m not only the clipboard lady, I’m the machine operator. The crew will come out and help me unload. One of my favorite things is every truck is different. We can have tiny 1-gallon plants or 20-foot trees and 3-inch calipers. I help plan out how we’re going to attack the truck and get it offloaded; that is one of my main responsibilities. Along with that is staging plants in the yard, making sure everything looks great, weed free, and making sure the irrigation is running fine; no pipes are cracked. … Also loading deliveries is kind of strangely satisfying. I love doing that every day. Then whenever we have customers, I get super excited. They’re very loyal to our company, and I love seeing them. But yeah, I do a little bit of everything from labeling trees, to taking out the trash, to occasionally making deliveries, picking up plants. Nobody here or me is above anything.
KM: How do you unwind after a busy day?
HC: I have a cat, and usually when I get home, I like to say hi to her. I take care of my chickens. In the summertime, I do a garden, and I love walking around the garden. Just because I leave the plants at work, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them back at home. So yeah, and just sitting outside; even though I’ve been outside all day, it’s relaxing to sit outside, read or do crafts. I’m a crafty girl. I always love a new craft.
