“If you get someone who can do the job, get out of their way.”

Greg Smith, Sr. Second Generation Owner Flowerwood Nursery

gentleness with business acumen, use of technology with common sense, and compromise with integrity and leadership.”

The Smiths, along with Sidney Meadows, sensed the optimism of the nation and correctly anticipated a postwar population boom in Southeastern cities. The decision was made to expand the regional footprint of the business to meet the demand of the market.

Poor drainage at the Dog River production facility motivated the purchase of a new 400-acre nursery in Loxley, Alabama. Greg Smith, Sr., and Sidney Meadows believed that relocating the nursery to better draining soil would make the company more competitive in growing camellias and Kurume azaleas.

Once the Loxley, Alabama location was started, there was a need to manage the day- to-day operations of the new nursery. Greg Smith, Sr. knew just the person for the job; from unlikely origins, Bob Duck, another Navy veteran, started his employment with Flowerwood through a government program that was initiated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Thirty men were hired for one dollar per day, and Bob Duck was the only employee that was kept after the program was completed.

Greg Smith, Sr., was known to say, “If you get someone who can do the job, get out of their way.” This philosophy encouraged innovation, and Sidney Meadows was empowered to improve Flowerwood Nursery’s production techniques.

In the late 1940’s a nursery location was built in Cairo, Georgia. This location had good growing conditions, fertile soil and was near the strong Tallahassee market.

Two devastating freezes in 1950 drove Flowerwood Nursery to implement practical solutions to protect the business from future weather disasters. First, it was decided to diversify the company’s product offering to grow a wider variety of cold hardy woody ornamentals. Second, it was quickly determined that having several geographically diverse locations insulated the business from total loss.

In the event of severe weather at one nursery, production could continue at the other locations. As Greg Smith, Sr., stated, “A wholesale nursery has to have some plants to sell every year, or you lose customers. Our multiple locations have helped us out several times in that respect.”

Flowerwood Nursery’s original production tract on Dog River in Mobile was kept open during the business’s expansion to provide an engine of income while the new nurseries were established. Having found the poorly draining soil to be less desirable than the soil at the new locations, the introduction of plastic containers in 1963 saved the Dog River nursery. Container-grown plants eliminated the impact of poorly draining soil, revitalizing the production potential of the nursery. The original Mobile nursery is still in operation today.

By the mid-1960’s Flowerwood had gained significant knowledge in cutting propagation to support the move to a container-grown product. Growing in containers improved the efficiency of the business as more plants were able to be grown on less land. With efficiency came a focus on the uniformity and aesthetic of the plant.

“We are in the position to offer you the most complete selection of illustrated color picture tags of Camellias and Azaleas available anywhere. Those of you who have used picture tags in your nurseries are fully aware of their sales value. Those of you who have not used them will want to glamorize your plants with these ornate tags. If you have ever attempted to describe a bloom to a customer, you will fully appreciate a good picture tag. Flowerwood can give you some real help with this problem”

—Flowerwood Nursery Catalog, 1964–1965

In 1971, Greg Smith, Jr. was a freshman in business school in Texas. The summer of his freshman year he moved to the Cairo, Georgia location to supervise the location which started in the late 1940’s. After one semester of commuting from Houston, Texas to Cairo, Georgia on weekends he transferred to Louisiana State University to seek an agriculture degree and be in closer proximity to the nursery. After graduation, Greg Smith, Jr. lived in Cairo, Georgia until 1977 when he was summoned to the Loxley location.

In 1979, the eye of Hurricane Frederick passed directly over the Mobile nursery. Despite challenging work conditions, the nursery was ready to resume shipping after only two days due to the dedication of the employees. Sales were impacted for longer as Flowerwood held off for a bit to evaluate plant conditions due to salt exposure.

Through five decades of growth and innovation, Greg Smith, Sr. and Sidney Meadows continued to grow and expand Flowerwood Nursery until their deaths. They were active in the Southern Nursery Association throughout their careers. Sidney Meadows was inducted into the American Association of Nurserymen Hall of Fame in 1982. The legacy continues, with an active scholarship program established in Sidney Meadows’ name. He was quoted as saying, “Investing in our students is the best investment we can make in our future.”

Flowerwood continues to be active in local and regional nursery associations. Greg Smith, Jr. was awarded Alabama’s Nursery and Landscape Association’s Lifetime Achievement award in 2017, and has served as the company’s President since his Father’s passing in 2002.

The headquarters moved from Mobile, Alabama to Loxley, Alabama. Bob Duck was the manager of the Loxley location for over 40 years. He also contributed to the industry at large, serving as President and Honorary Past President of the Alabama Nurseryman’s Association. There are still Duck family members working at the Loxley nursery continuing to grow Bob Duck’s lasting impact on the culture of the business.

In 1984, Greg Smith, Jr. decided to expand Flowerwood into central Florida. The Bushnell, Florida location is located between Ocala and Tampa. This region rarely sees temperatures that dip below thirty-two degrees. This facility has transitioned from a selling operation through the years and is currently a growing farm to support Flowerwood’s south Alabama locations. The Bushnell location allows a market advantage as products are finished sooner due to the milder climate in central Florida.

When Hurricane Katrina flooded the Mobile nursery in 2005, the lessons of diversification allowed Flowerwood Nursery to continue to serve its customers. Recovery from the hurricane took a full year, as portions of the nursery remained flooded for an extended period and most of the material on the nursery was not recoverable. By stepping up production at other locations, Flowerwood was able to meet the needs of its customers without interruption.

The years following this were pivotal. In 2006, key personnel were promoted into higher management positions. Ellis Ollinger became Flowerwood’s Chief Executive Officer. Ellis Ollinger started with Flowerwood in 1991 in a grower position. Also in 2006, Todd Carnley was promoted to Vice President of Sales. Todd Carnley started his career in 1999 as an Outside Sales Representative for the Atlanta, Georgia market.

Under the leadership of Greg Smith, Jr., Ellis Ollinger and Todd Carnley, Flowerwood implemented changes to its shrub production process. “Greg Smith, Jr. had us evaluate the end of the process, asking ourselves, ‘What needs to be on the customer’s garden center tables and when?’” said Todd Carnley. “With this question driving our decisions, our team works backwards. We first determine what the product should be and when it should arrive. This has helped our production staff to improve the production process to best serve the end consumers.” The sales and production planning process now predicts supply 36 months out to ensure the plants will be ready at the time of demand.

Today, under Greg Smith, Jr.’s leadership and vision, Flowerwood Nursery has growing facilities in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, including three selling locations and several farms for production only. Recently, the Ranburne, Alabama location, which is in a cooler climate, transitioned into a production only facility, with the ability to grow West Coast type material close to our main shipping locations.

Utilizing Ranburne in northeast Alabama and Bushnell in central Florida, Flowerwood takes advantage of seasonal weather variation that would be impossible for one location to provide. Over 1,000 acres are in active nursery production with the ability to expand to an additional 400 acres.

Flowerwood Nursery is strengthened by a team of 650 year-round employees led by Greg Smith, Jr., and Ellis Ollinger. We currently have a management training program designed to mentor young managers and invest time and resources in the cultivation of young talent. Our team members wake up in the morning and think of what they can do to make the nursery a little better every day.

To assist with labor challenges, Flowerwood Nursery utilizes the H2A guest worker, government program. Investments in capital improvements continue to attract a reliable year-round workforce.

Flowerwood is moving towards reinventing workspaces to make them more ergonomically efficient and comfortable. We have made the move to a lean-flow supermarket system for the loading dock along with lean-flow pulling of customer orders. These processes help achieve superior performance in selection, time, cost, quality, and safety.

Greg Smith, Jr. has been a trailblazer for the nursery and related industries. He is actively involved in the day-to-day operations of the nursery locations and the related industries. His vision allowed the development of several sister companies vital to our business today. Flowerwood Trucking, Flowerwood Logistics, Plants Direct Online, along with several others that are a result of his determination and drive for success.

Flowerwood has doubled its sales in the last ten years. Flowerwood has improved the industry with the introduction of new shrubs for Encore® Azalea, Southern Living® Plant Collection, and Sunset® Plant Collection. Greg Smith, Jr. and Flowerwood have been a pioneer in shrub branding. We specialize in plants with improved genetics as well as tried and true traditional commodity shrubs that have been around through the generations. These newer genetics have changed the landscape of plant demand to offer more desirable attributes for more year around interest.

Additional investments have been made in equipment and facilities to improve ergonomic and environmental conditions on the nursery including electric tuggers on the loading dock to begin the conversion away from gas engines, additional plant forklifts to assist in planting and spacing, pot dispenser machines in production, lift gate trailers to assist in customer deliveries, five hybrid electric Ford Maverick pickup trucks, chromatic colored shade to alter plant growth naturally, continued investment in rolling racks, new pumpstations with variable speed pumps that reduce electric usage, an e-commerce division which ships an average of 3,300 plants daily during peak season, and an additional

122,816 square feet of greenhouse space along with 301,040 square feet of shade space.

Flowerwood is unique, due to our longevity, focus on innovation, excellent production facilities, ability to utilize multiple growing zones in the Southeast United States, new plant development, and flagship brands.

Flowerwood is grateful to our founders who created a strong foundation, to our current employees who keep us going, and to our loyal customers, who make it all possible!

Flowerwood appreciates the opportunity to be the plant supplier for your garden center, wholesale nursery, or commercial project. Thank you!