Nurseries evolve to survive and thrive

From Valerie Easton for The Seattle Times:

The nursery industry has been hard hit not only by the economic slump but also by changing demographics and dismal spring weather. Some nurseries never made up the income they lost to last spring's sodden weekends.

The state's Department of Revenue statistics tell the story. Our nursery and floriculture industry had gross revenues of $182.9 million in 2006, which fell to $134.2 million by 2009. There's been a slight recovery, but the first two quarters of 2012 came in slightly below the same period in 2011.

We see the fallout. Emery's Garden in Lynnwood shut down after 15 years in business. Now we refer to nurseries by their past lives, as in Urban Earth, formerly Piriformis, and Emerald City Gardens, formerly Fremont Gardens. Breanne Chavez, executive director of the Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association, says nurseries are adjusting to the new normal. Some have had record years, others are struggling.

"I pay close attention to what customers want," says Susan Petersen, who bought her urban nursery in Wallingford off Craigslist two years ago and renamed it Urban Earth. She specializes in edibles, small-scale plants and dwarf conifers. She's expanded her gift shop to include local artists and invites garden clubs to meet at the nursery. "I'm a small nursery that tries to be a big one," says Petersen. "I see things improving; I did better this year than last."

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