Dayton "Dirt' - August 22, 2014

Last week I had an eye-opening experience in Zeeland, Michigan which is a beautiful small city just east of Holland. Zeeland is the home of Walters Gardens which is about a one thousand acre perennial nursery which is on the cutting edge of innovation. Walter’s not only has field production of various plants such as daylilies, hostas, lavender and so on but also has greenhouses full of small pots of perennials in trays of 20, 30 and 72 plants ready for shipment now or next spring to growers like us that we’ll transplant to larger size pots in order to grow larger for next spring and summer sales. On a tour of the nursery, I especially noticed the cleanliness of the fields, greenhouses and packing and shipping houses. Then too were the beautiful display gardens of older and the newly released plants showing off in full glory in the bloom of a summer perennial garden. Nearby the gardens were test plots of yet to be released new plants with only the genus name and a number identifying them until they are tested and evaluated before being named and released.

A full time breeder and accompanying assistants continually churn out new and improved varieties in the Walter’s line of offerings. I have been planting product from Walters Gardens since 1978 and have had tours as recently as 2001 but I must admit that I was amazed by the expansion that had occurred since that time. Dennis Walters, the founder of the company still lives on the property but is quite up in years. Walters employees are “encouraged” not to give sales presentation or work on  Sunday’s which stems from the area’s founding by religious Dutch settlers in 1846. In fact, I remember speaking with a local resident in 1982 in which it was “not cool” to mow the lawn on Sunday in Zeeland! While Holland, Michigan is known for Tulip Time there is so much more to do.

Downtown Holland is very clean and inviting which I think anyone would expect with its Dutch roots. Walters Gardens goes along with the Dutch theme in that they are not satisfied with a particular variety of perennial but always have to tweak it and improve it.

At home at the nursery, construction is well under way of the new greenhouse. Transplanting of perennials and shrubs still occupies the equipment barn space and new ideas are taking shape to roll them out for spring.

Tom