Nurseries cultivate success

Growers create niche markets with unusual varieties

DAVE GALLAGHER

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It may not look like it at first glance, but January is a very busy time for those in one of Whatcom County’s largest — and often overlooked — agriculture industries.

While winter still has an icy lock on much of the county, those who own greenhouse and nursery businesses are very much in planting mode. Paul Troutman, who has operated Cascade Cuts Nursery since 1980, said this is the time of year they are getting everything from herbs to geraniums to fuchsias planted in preparation for the spring rush.

“It’s the type of business that isn’t as impacted by the economy as it is by the weather,” said Troutman, who coowns the business with Alison Kurtz-Troutman.

DANNY GAWLOWSKI | DANNY GAWLOWSKI THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

THE NURSERY INDUSTRY

In 2002, the Whatcom County nursery industry brought in $24.5 million, ranking sixth in the state. That amount represents 8.5 percent of agriculture’s total market value in the county.
The 2007 report is scheduled to be released in February 2009.
There are more than 20 retail nurseries and more than 10 wholesale nurseries in Whatcom County.
SOURCES: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 2002 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE REPORT, WHATCOM FARM FRIENDS.

“If it is pouring down rain in April and May, people are working on indoor projects and not getting outside. It’s hard to plan what to plant for because of that uncertainty.”

Overall, the industry has been growing quite a bit in this region, partly as a consequence of rising land prices, said Craig McConnell, director at the Washington State University Whatcom County Extension in Bellingham.

“Because of the high cost of land and the high minimum wage, it is difficult to be sustainable in commodity agriculture, such as fluid milk,” McConnell said. “What can be sustainable is the high-value commodities like nurseries. Businesses can carve out a niche growing unique plants, and people in this region are doing so. I’m pretty upbeat about this segment of agriculture.”

The switch to nursery and greenhouse products worked for Tom Thornton and his wife, Cheryl, who own Cloud Mountain Farm. They started the farm in 1977 with the idea of selling apples on the commodity market. They saw the economic realities hitting the market, though, and shifted to the nursery and greenhouse products. They now sell a wide variety of woody plants, including Japanese maples.

“It’s a little surprising to me that more people haven’t gone into the nursery trade, because there are a lot of opportunities,” Tom Thornton said.

The key for his business, Thornton said, was to produce varieties not normally seen at the bigger stores.

“There has been a trend toward more sophisticated landscaping and gardening, so you can make money on the hot items,” Thornton said. “We get a lot of plant people looking for something they’ve never seen before, so we don’t grow huge amounts of anything. We’re in the variety testing business, and that is something that keeps me interested in this industry.”

Troutman said the variety is important for nurseries that are not supplying the big chain stores. He currently has nine acres in the King Mountain area near Bellingham. He grew the business to a certain level that allowed him to sell to smaller stores in the greater Seattle area.

“We didn’t want to grow to a point where we were selling to the big chain stores,” Troutman said. “That is a much different kind of business, and we wanted to stay at this level.”

One other area Cloud Mountain has seen growth in recently is wine grapes. In the last four years they’ve increased their production of wine grapes from 1,000 plants a year to 50,000 plants.

“Wine grapes are a great winter crop, and a highly technical crop,” Thornton said. “We’re finding that not many can do it, so we’ve been able to find markets not only around here but places like Colorado and the East Coast.”

At the retail level, business appears to be going well. Margaret Rudy, who co-owns De- Wilde’s Nurseries on Northwest Avenue, said her landscape crew has been busy this time of year.

“Usually they take the month of January off but not this year,” Rudy said. “They have had a lot of commercial contracts, and the steady growth in housing means more yards to landscape.”

The reason for the increased popularity of nurseries locally could also have to do with societal trends, McConnell said.

“Landscaping is becoming an extension of the house,” McConnell said. “People want to be doing more in their yard, which is also why you’re seeing more nurseries selling

more outdoor furnishings.”

One advantage this region has is being so far north, he said.

“We have a lot more sunlight up here during the growing season, which increases the variety of things that can grow here,” McConnell said.

One of the challenges to growing wide varieties of plants is staying on top of the education behind it. Thornton said he considers himself fortunate to have a highly educated staff.

“The cost of labor is a major expense, but it’s worth it when you have people who can talk to the customers about all the varieties and what works in this climate,” Thornton said.