While early spring temperatures continue to yo-yo in the Fox Valley, the urge to get outside and get something growing remains strong for folks like Sophia Toll of Montgomery.
“I know it’s early, but I’m kind of itching to get started, although from where I’ve been maybe it’s too early,” Toll said while looking at some plants recently at Schaefer Greenhouses in Montgomery. “I’m kind of a beginner, so I’m trying out low maintenance things, but I want to do veggies and herbs and sort of broaden the horizons.”
With spring upon us, nurseries in the Aurora area continue to coax seedlings along in greenhouses while hardware and home improvement stores stockpile gardening soil, fertilizers, plant food and more.
Aurora-area greenhouses and gardening centers like Schaefer Greenhouses say there has been a noticeable uptick in foot traffic and phone calls recently.
Jane Schaefer Storm, retail manager at the greenhouse that is currently celebrating its 100th anniversary, said the business is “expecting a good season this year as the weather breaks and people get more and more excited to get their gardens going.”
“We certainly carry a huge variety – over 50 kinds of peppers, plus others vegetables and tomatoes and all that good stuff,” she said. “Things are definitely picking up.”
Storm said there are a number of customers who are newer to gardening “and looking to learn.”
“There are a good number who ask questions and while they can Google things, they also want to come in and talk to someone who’s been doing it for a while,” she said.
Matt Zerby, president of Wasco Nursery and Garden Center in St. Charles, is also forecasting a good year.
A retail store at Wasco Nursery and Garden Center in St. Charles is stocked with seeds and other items as gardeners prepare to get out in their yards and get planting. (David Sharos/For The Beacon-News)
“We had a good season last year with some momentum that’s carried over into this year,” Zerby said. “So far, customer traffic and orders coming in have been very solid and we’re anticipating a really good year.
“We grow a huge selection of vegetables and herbs and other edible plants,” he said, “but being as large as we are with a 10-acre regional garden center and a 140-acre nursery most are buying ornamental house material. We sell the whole gamut here.”
Coming out of the pandemic when many turned to gardening, Zerby said that people “continue to control their own food supply which has been on the increase,” but said that another trend “that came out of COVID was privacy plantings.”
“We’ve seen a lot of that in terms of more people spending more time away from an office and working at home and being outside, and wanting more screening from neighbors, the traffic or what have you,” he said. “Plant material that will provide that screening has certainly been on the increase the past few years.”
Christa Bormann, general manager for Heinz Brothers Greenhouse in St. Charles, said recent warm days have produced a flurry of customers at the greenhouse.
Creating privacy in outdoor spaces remains a focus for gardeners, Bormann said.
“People want to spend time outside and outdoor living is a bigger category than it has been in the past 20 years and people are willing to invest in their outside spaces,” she said. “In the past few years privacy screens that aren’t fences have gotten quite a bit bigger and people interested in incorporating edible fruit trees and bushes into their yards has also increased. People prefer something green versus a metal fence.”
New products also continue to enter the market, according to those working at Fox Valley greenhouses.
Schaefers in Montgomery is currently busy raising more than 60 new varietals this year in an effort “to continue to spark some interest for people who like to garden.”
Staff members work with plants recently at Schaefer Greenhouses in Montgomery. (David Sharos/For The Beacon-News)
“Last year, we had the glow-in-the-dark petunias and I know there is a new variety of those coming out as well as vegetables and annuals,” Storm said.
Billy Murdoch, vice president of operations at Schaefer Greenhouses, said there is a “definite uptick in people asking for new and unique plants.”
“This year, we’ve got over 20 new varieties across herbs and veggies, and we have 30 or 40 new varieties among our annuals and we are excited to bring those into the market as well,” he said. “I think there is a natural curiosity. Plant sales are on the uptick and people want to see something that’s different. Some plant the same varieties for 20 or 30 years and this is the new trend – what is new in the plant world?”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
Comments are closed.