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Jerry’s Flowers

Many people living in Northern Door can’t remember a time before Jerry’s Flowers, as Jerry and Darlene Reinhard began their business on its present site in 1960. Joy and Fred Lang have owned the greenhouse since 1988 and operate it with the help of their two sons, Nate and Josh. But the departure of “Jerry” is not the only change that Jerry’s Flowers has seen in the past 50 years.

One obvious difference is the shrinking role geraniums play in landscape gardening. Gone are the days of the standard planter with a spike, two red geraniums, three white petunias, and a vinca, Joy Lang said, “Things have gotten more interesting!”

Josh Lang waters plants in the greenhouse.

As a result a much smaller portion of greenhouse space is devoted to geraniums and far more to new varieties developed by botanical researchers whom Lang affectionately refers to as the Dutch Boys. While this sort of research in the U.S. is generally conducted as private enterprise, in the Netherlands the work is government supported. “Their number one export is flowers,” she said.

Germany is also a leader in the development of new plant varieties, she noted. New cultivars are not only bred for aesthetic considerations, but for withstanding the extremes of growing conditions brought about by global warming.

A wider number of varieties encourages more diversity in the tastes of clients. Lang remembers the past when a number of faithful customers would come in each spring with the same orders. That has changed, in part because gardening demographics have changed: she now sells to year-round, summer, and weekend residents, all with different gardening needs.

A practical consideration that Lang faces is the increased cost of running a greenhouse. Keeping 20,000 square feet of space at a tropical temperature requires a considerable investment in fuel, and it was a major consideration in the fact that Jerry’s is now “a seasonal business in a seasonal location.” In addition, patents on new varieties and other hidden costs cut into the sales profit margin.

“Our greenhouse is unique,” Lang said, “in that we grow 90% of what we sell.” And the Langs take advantage of techniques that allow them to produce marketable plants more quickly, thus reducing their heating costs.

One change is the use of a non-soil medium that allows plants to develop more rapidly. Another is the purchase of flats containing seedling plugs, tiny cubes that the greenhouse transplants into larger containers, a practice that not only helps to cut fuel costs but shipping expenses as well.

Joy Lang works on an arrangement of flowers.

Yet another difference is one of philosophy. Jerry’s Flowers tries to keep pace with the present trends of growing green and shopping locally. Lang has experimented with biodegradable pots, and encourages customers to return plastic pots (not the connected squares) to be recycled.

And the greenhouse buys from reputable growers in the Upper Midwest, plants that are acclimated to local conditions. Jerry’s also promotes Folletts Watch Us Grow and Milorganite fertilizers.

Perhaps most important, “We are a family owned working greenhouse,” Lang said. She was born into a gardening family in Milwaukee and as a girl learned the business by working for her cousins who owned the Froemming Brothers Greenhouses; after she moved to Door County in 1976, she began working at Jerry’s. Fred Lang is a Master Gardener, and Nate recently graduated with a degree in horticulture from UW-River Falls; Josh is learning by working in the business.

And Jerry’s Flowers employs local people. “Everyone working here is long term,” Lang said, “has been here 10 or 15 years.” Carol Sitte Ama began working for the greenhouse when she was 14, and later earned a certificate from the Lois Trim School of Design in floral work. Jean Ehmke is a Master Gardener.

“We have specific clientele that know quality and price,” Lang said. “They have questions, and we share our knowledge.” She joked that Jerry’s has considered answering the first two questions free, but charging for the third!

Jerry’s Flowers stays in business by sensing trends in gardening and finding ways to respond. For example, more people are gardening in smaller ways, Lang observed, sometimes using containers on decks. Younger gardening families are forced to deal with time and financial limitations.

Because of technology, some people can work from their homes. And “retired people have time to garden,” Lang said. “Former CEOs want something more to do besides golfing and taking sailing lessons, and gardening is a natural here.”

Visit Jerry’s Flowers at their greenhouses at the south edge of Sister Bay on Highway 42 from March through October (Fred sez they go dormant the remainder of the year!), or at http://www.jerrysflowers-doorcounty.com.