S2
PROFITABLE LANDSCAPE DESIGN NICHE
PROFESSIONAL LANDSCAPE DESIGN BUSINESS FOR SALE
Kathleen Zeren Landscape Design (www.kzeren.com) has been successfully providing landscape design services to the development community in Hampton Roads since 1993. This profitable business provides easy year -round income. Kathleen is retiring and is seeking a talented design professional to take over the enterprise. Loyal clients, specialized training, templates and more are included in the sale. This can also be an excellent opportunity for installation contractors to gain access to multiple commercial projects during the design phase.
Each municipality has its own landscape ordinance whose requirements must be met for a building permit to be issued. Providing these plans is a specialty niche. There is very little competition. Kathleen has been the go-to for this in Hampton Roads for 30 years.
This has been a home-based business requiring only a good internet connection and a place to spread out plans. This allows for a good income with very little overhead. Kathleen has been working this business part time for some years.
The buyer should be proficient in Landscape Design or Landscape Architecture. Knowledge of AutoCADD drafting would be a plus.
2022 Total Part Time Income: $76,165, Net: $48,066
Please contact Kathleen to discuss this opportunity and to negotiate terms.
Asking Price: $69,000. Terms negotiable. 757.478.1953 kzeren53@gmail.com
Purpose-built, strong, versatile machines with lifting capacities of 1,500 to
Powerful enough to tackle the toughest jobs without tearing up the turf. From nurseries to lawns...from forests to fields...we have the machine for the way you work!
Virginia Nursery & Landscape Association
9702 Gayton Road, Suite 163
Tel: (804) 256 2700
Email: info@vnla.org
Published by: Leading
NEW ADDRESS FOR VNLA
9702 Gayton Road Suite 163
Henrico, VA 23238
794-4524
Email: info@leadingedgecommunications.com
2021 Officers and Directors Year indicates start of volunteer service to VNLA Board of Directors
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President Chris Dowdy 2020 Bennett’s Creek Nursery
Vice President
Jason Stern 2021 Stern Horticultural Sales
Secretary Treasurer Warner Winthrop 2020
Bartlett Tree Experts
Past President / Board Recruitment / Field Day
Jeff Howe 2016 Windridge Landscaping
Executive Director Shellie Archer
DIRECTORS
Matt Deivert 2017
MANTS Board Representative / Field Day South Riding Nurseries
Neal Beasley 2019 Certification / VCH* Chair
Timmons Group
Robin McCall 2020 Field Day
Williams Brothers Tree & Lawn Service
Tye Saunders 2023
Saunders Brothers
Cameron Stanley 2023 The Gardener Nursery
EX-OFFICIO, VIRTUE OF OFFICE: Non-voting
Laurie Fox, Ph. D. VA Tech Hampton Roads AREC
David Seward
Reynolds Community College
Montpelier, VA
* VCH = Virginia Certified Horticulturist
Abby Farms www.abby-farms.com
Better Bilt Products ... 18, Inside Back Cover www.bbponline.com
Bremo Trees .......................... www.bremotrees.com
Cam Too Camellia Nursery, Inc. www.camtoocamellia.com
Fairview Evergreen Nurseries www.fairviewevergreen.com
Greene County Fertilizer Co. .......................... www.greenecountyfert.com
Hummerbee ............................. www.hummerbee.com
masLABOR.............. www.maslabor.com
Pender Nursery, Inc. www.pendernursery.com
Phillips & Turman Tree Farms ............................. PhillipsAndTurmanTreeFarms.com
Tidewater Trees ..................... www.tidewatertrees.com
Virginia Turfgrass Council www.vaturf.org
Subscriptions
Happy 2023
Itis a most wonderful time of the year. Nothing gives me spring fever like those first blooms and buds we’re starting to see. As you read this, I am confident your business has already kicked into full swing. It is a great time of year!
It was terrific to see so many members at MANTS. The show floor was buzzing with energy. Exhibitor and attendee numbers were back up to 2019 levels. It is always an extraordinary show. The enthusiasm, professionalism and commitment to our green industry is inspiring!
At the recent member breakfast meeting, we added two new Board members, Tye Saunders with Saunders Brothers and Cameron Stanley with The Gardener Nursery. We are excited about the ideas and energy they both bring to the table. Welcome gentlemen, we look forward to you adding to the strength and knowledge of the Board!
During the member breakfast meeting, we were also fortunate to hear valuable updates from guests:
Emily Robbins
Virginia Asset Group | President
Sara Neagu-Reed AmericanHort | Director, Advocacy and Government Affairs
Cliff Williamson
Virginia Agribusiness Council | Executive Director
Megan Wright másLabor | Director, Industry Relations
Mike Evans
Virginia Tech School of Plant and Environmental Science Director and Professor
Many thanks to all of you for taking the time to join us and share your expertise and helpful information!
Seana Ankers, with Meadows Farms Nurseries & Landscape, wrapped up her role as immediate past VNLA president. However, she has graciously decided to stay involved a bit longer as a mentor to the next legislative chairperson. She is also assisting with Field Day 2023 at Virginia Tech’s Hahn Horticulture Garden. Save-the-Date: August 3 – 4. Seana, thank you for your many years of service to the VNLA!
Speaking of Field Day, preparation is underway. Jeff Howe, Seana Ankers, Robin McCall and Matt Deivert are planning a great first day to include educational components, panel discussions and demonstrations. Additionally, a second day of nursery tours and landscape operations. Stay tuned for more info.
Some of our Board members attended the Virginia Agribusiness Council’s Annual Legislative Appreciation Banquet. The event included remarks from Governor Youngkin and others. The VNLA appreciates the Virginia Agribusiness Council and the strong partnership on the legislative front.
The Board is excited to initiate a project to update our Virginia Certified Horticulturist (VCH) manual. We understand this may be a lengthy process and we look forward to partnering with subject matter experts to produce a VCH study manual that is best in class.
I hope each and every one of our friends in the industry has a super and successful spring season. I don’t know about you, but July 4 celebrations cannot get here soon enough.
Sincerely,
Chris Dowdy
VNLA President
VNLA FIELD DAY
DATES: August 3 and 4, 2023
LOCATION: Hahn Horticulture Garden at Virginia Tech
More details to come!
NEW ADDRESS FOR VNLA
9702 Gayton Road Suite 163
Henrico, VA 23238
Member Highlight on
B BENNETT’S CREEK NURSERY
ennett’s Creek Nursery is approaching its 50th anniversary. The company is now in its third generation of ownership and leadership. Started in 1974 by Art Lancaster, the nursery began in Suffolk, VA growing plants in metal cans filled with topsoil. In the mid 90s, ownership transitioned to Wayne Sawyer and John Lancaster, Art’s nephew. After Wayne’s passing in 2015, Wayne’s son, Matthew, progressed from Vice President of Operations to the role of CEO. Matthew became the sole owner of the business in 2019 after negotiating stock purchases from John and Matthew’s sister. John passed in 2020 after a fight with cancer.
The business is now based in Smithfield, VA on a 420-acre property with 275 acres in container plant production with plenty of room to expand. Crops range from six-inch spring and fall annuals all the way to 25-gallon shade trees. In addition to the growing operation, the business operates four landscape distribution centers. These centers are located in Smithfield, Williamsburg, Virginia Beach, and Powells Point, NC.
Bennett’s Creek Nursery’s specialty is professional landscape products. Quality is not sacrificed for the sake of price. The product mix of annuals, perennials, grasses, vines, shrubs, and trees allows the nursery to be a one-stop-shop for its customers. The diversity is a strong advantage when working with customers to put together loads. Most of the woody shrubs are propagated in-house by a team that produces over 500,000 liners each year. Other plants are sourced as plugs, bare root, or liners from the many brands that Bennett’s Creek is licensed to grow.
Trees
Spring Annuals
Rack Wagon
Sprayer
Propagation
Potting and Loading Dock
Distribution Center
Bennett’s Creek Nursery’s purpose is to provide opportunity for its employees and customers while enhancing the community. The nursery has employed many over its nearly five decades of operation. Some employees have been around more than four of those decades. Multiple families have had three or more family members employed at the same time. Countless customers have started and expanded their business utilizing the products grown by Bennett’s Creek. The nursery supports local Master Gardeners, the Norfolk Botanical Garden, as well as other charities and foundations. Many of the gifts are inkind donations of plants.
What makes Bennett’s Creek Nursery unique is their people, processes, and accessibility. The combined knowledge of the employees is astounding. Decades of trial and error, as well as a push for continuous improvement, have generated this knowledge. The processes that have resulted from this knowledge are proven yet are always being tweaked to adapt to changes in technology and the environment. The nursery is a resource that can be reached in person, over the phone, through text, email, or the website can be shopped 24-7.
The core values of the nursery are Improvement, Results, Collaboration, Integrity, and Humility. Improvements and Results go hand-in-hand and many of those improvements are shared in this article. Collaboration helps to achieve the results by working together to solve complex problems. Integrity applies to employees, customers, and vendors. The right thing is done even when no one is watching. Humility is important as boastfulness and pride do not fit well in the company’s culture. Employees are humble, but do not mind sharing their accomplishments and helping others.
Many of the improvements at the nursery are the results of ideas seen while touring other nurseries or attending conferences and trade shows. Some improvements are processes while others involve equipment or technology. The driving forces behind these improvements is typically to increase productivity, reduce inputs, improve worker comfort, and improve quality and consistency.
An example of an improvement that achieved all the driving forces is the addition of a custom boom sprayer with both liquid and granular delivery systems. In 2016 the nursery put this machine into service. It has air ducts that blow the spray application directly into the plant canopy along with an electrostatic system that gives a charge to the spray and enable it to stick to all surfaces of the plants. The targeted spray application reduced chemical usage 20%. The granular delivery system has been utilized to apply pre-emergent herbicides. The process involves only two team members, an operator in the cab of a tractor and an assistant checking calibration trays and running irrigation, as opposed to a crew of several people hand cranking herbicides in personal protective equipment that is exhaustingly hot. With fewer people required, the pre-emergent applications occurred on schedule and the nursery saw fewer weeds resulting in less labor required for hand weeding.
In 2017 the propagation department was moved to Smithfield from the original location in Suffolk. Propagation is the intensive care unit of the nursery. New plants begin their lives as stem cuttings with no roots. They need the best water possible to prevent against diseases. A new pump house was
Printer
Forklift
Smithfield Farm
constructed utilizing data learned from irrigation pond research conducted by Virginia Tech. The water is drawn from the lake that receives the least runoff from the nursery greatly reducing recycled pathogens. It is filtered, acidified, and chlorinated to eliminate any remaining pathogens. These treatment processes all take place with variable flow rates as low as a garden hose or as high as multiple greenhouses irrigating.
Picking up and putting down plants is some of the hardest work on a container nursery. In 2020 the nursery began utilizing a specialty forklift to move packs of 60 threegallon plants. The forklift has been used to put down new potting and to pick it back up the following season for spacing. In the future another forklift will be added to allow for loading trailers in one field and unloading in another.
The potting line was upgraded in 2020 as well. This line replaced aging equipment and allowed some potting processes to increase output. Additionally, a printing system was implemented to print item names and numbers on the side of the pots as they travel down the conveyor. This system removed two to four workers from the potting line and virtually eliminated the plastic stick tags that were inserted into every pot. In January 2023 a rice hull topping machine was added to the line. Rice hulls are applied to the top of the soil as a mulch for plants that can’t tolerated pre-emergent herbicides such as grasses and perennials. This machine will eliminate the need for two workers applying rice hulls by hand.
As Bennett’s Creek Nursery continues into the future it will continue to grow and improve. On the horizon is expansion of growing fields, pruning more consistently with machines, and increased implementation of material handling systems. The next generation of leaders are coming up the ranks and are being mentored by veteran leaders. The future looks bright! •
MANTS ATTENDANCE RETURNS TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS
More than 11,000 Gathered in Baltimore, Marking the Start of the Green Industry Trade Show Season
(Baltimore, Md. January 17, 2023) – The 2023 Mid Atlantic Nursery Trade Show (MANTS) welcomed more than 11,000 attendees, including exhibitors in Baltimore from January 11 through 13 at the Baltimore Convention Center.
Known as the Masterpiece of Trade Shows™, MANTS jumpstarted the 2023 green industry trade show season on a high note bringing together horticulture industry leaders from around the country. A sold-out trade show floor showcased more than 900 exhibiting companies in more than 1,530 booths. Attendees from 42 states and 14 foreign countries spent three days connecting with colleagues, discovering new products, and seeking new plants, nursery stock, landscape and garden items, heavy and light-duty equipment, tools, outdoor living essentials, and other allied industry products.
“The energy on the trade show floor was electric this year as our exhibitors and attendees reconnected with one another,” said MANTS Executive Vice President Vanessa A. Finney.
“Business was booming, and it was easy to see that all in attendance were excited to be back full force.”
MANTS 2023 continued to mean business, enticing wellqualified buyers with high levels of purchasing power to solidify partnerships. More than 84.5 percent of MANTS attendees identified as either the final decision-makers or those who influence their companies’ purchasing decisions, while more than 76.3 percent are categorized as owners, vice presidents, managers, buyers, or sales and marketing professionals. By the end of the final show day, more than half of this year’s exhibitors had already renewed their exhibit space for the 2024 show.
“MANTS 2023 has been the busiest we’ve seen in over a decade. It’s called the masterpiece of trade shows, but it really should be called ‘THE’ show in the horticulture industry,” said Tree Saether, Sales Vice President, Greenleaf Nursery Company. “If you miss out on MANTS, you miss out on all the new innovative and necessary products you need to grow your green business.”
“As a first-time exhibitor, our global team was thrilled to ‘roll’ into the horticulture market and share our newest nursery tools at MANTS 2023,” says Scott Britton, Global Attachments Marketing Manager, Caterpillar. “This has been an outstanding experience with a positively engaged audience and the perfect opportunity to establish partnerships. We’re looking forward to venturing back to Baltimore in 2024 to introduce more B2B products that are helping to ease the skilled labor shortage.”
“This show was established 53 years ago to encourage the development and cultivation of partnerships, and from what we saw on the show floor this year, we successfully met that goal,” concluded Finney. •
In 1983, Jeff Miller was the Virginia Nurseryman’s Association President. In 1990, he received this same award. Greg and Jeff were business partners from 1973-1992 when they had a friendly division of Laurel Creek Nursery. Jeff assumed ownership of the retail garden center, landscaping, greenhouses and retail florist component. Greg assumed ownership of the farms with a wholesale ball and burlap growing operation and cut Christmas trees.
2022 Young Professional of the Year, Jordan Flemer of Ingleside Nurseries
Pictured: Jordan Flemer with Jeff Howe, Windridge Landscaping & Hardscaping, 2022 VNLA Board President
Pictured: Jeff Miller (left)
Shreckhise Nurseries
Waynesboro Nurseries
Saunders Brothers
Ingleside Nurseries
Tankard Nurseries
Bennett’s Creek Nursery
2023 VNLA Board of Directors: (left to right) Jeff Howe, Matt Deivert, Robin McCall, Chris Dowdy, Tye Saunders, Cameron Stanley, Jason Stern, Neal Beasley.
Chris Dowdy and Jeff Howe
Lancaster Farms
Cavano’s Perennials
Mobjack Nurseries
Eastern Shore Nursery of Virginia
Earth Anchor Tree Kits
• Heavy holding capacity
• Avaiable in bulk packs and bagged tree kits
Easy Anchoring:
•Helical flights cut through the soil 3” or 4” for every 360° rotation
•Solid steel shaft with chiseled lead edge and welded closed eye
•High holding capacity: up to 3500 lbs
•Easy to remove and reuse
•No power tools needed to install
Tree Ball/ Rock Carts
Brute 65
•1200 lb. capacity
•Cart size 34”x61” easily fits through gates
•Up to 65 gal containers/32” ball
Helical Auger Anchors
*3 models available: 15” to 30”
Brute 100
•1600 lb. capacity
•Cart sizes 45”x61”
•Up to 100 gal containers/44” ball
•Multi use: boulders, bags, timbers
Diablo B&B Tree Ball/ Container Cart
•1200 lb. capacity
•Cart size 34” x 61” easily fits through gates
•Up to 32” ball, 23” depth on lip
•Tow/lifting loop
