LEGACY
Garland Nursery celebrated 80 years in business last year.
Founded in 1937 by William and Corlie Schmidt, the nursery was named for their only daughter, Garland. The original property was 100 acres, with a working dairy barn and farm land on which the Schmidts grew Turkish filbert rootstock. Today, the fourth generation – Brenda, Lee and Erica Powell – operates the nursery. “We are a large, retail nursery for gardeners that offers the best selection in the valley,” said Brenda Powell. “We specialize in new and different varieties, Bonsai, houseplants, garden art and gifts.” Lee Powell is a licensed landscape architect who does full designs and consultations. The nursery also has garden experts on staff and offers garden coach and plant doctor services. “We have long-term staff that is like family,” Brenda said. “Third and fourth generation members served on Oregon Association of Nurseries boards, including Don and Lee, who were each president of OAN, and Sandra and Erica as president of the OAN retail chapter. “We enjoy connecting with our customers, many of whom bring their children and grandchildren shopping,” she added. Transitioning from generation to generation does have challenges, Brenda said. “Keeping up with what our customers want and trends in the nursery and retail industry are a few,” she said. “Keeping up with technology is another as well as being a good steward of the environment and maintaining customer satisfaction and connection.” Garland Nursery offers gardening classes, special events such as Art & Wine in the Garden, now in its 19th year, and Little Sprouts monthly activities for kids. Staff and owners have spoken to various clubs and groups. Garland Nursery also donates to Albany school fundraisers, non-profit
www.albanychamber.com
groups like Safe Haven, and Samaritan Cancer Resource Center. Garland Nursery hosted Greeters, which Powell said helped with its visibility in the community. And the Albany Area Chamber’s monthly newsletter keeps the business abreast of what’s going on in the business community, she added. “We have advertised events through the mailer,” she said. “The Albany Chamber connects us with other local businesses and helps us know our customers better.” Garland Nursery is restructuring and streamlining its organization to be better able to support customers and changes in business.
“We make yearly improvements to the physical site, such as this year’s new public restroom, located closer to the store,” Powell said. “We are currently going through the process of succession planning.” Moving forward still has room for the family to embrace the past that gave legs to the founding of the nursery. “Our ancestors were the pioneer Oregon gospel preachers, the Powell
POPULATION
With a population of over 52,000, Albany is the largest city in Linn County. The population of the county is approximately 119,862.
3