EMBER PROFILE 



display shelter is filled with 2500 in 

 spring. In October, "people are 

 buying things they can take in- 

 doors," and the greenhouse con- 

 tains a fairly comprehensive collec- 

 tion of culinary herbs. Many are in 

 clay pots; some, like curry, are in 

 hanging baskets. No chemical pesti- 

 cides are used on these — instead, 

 such things as vegetable oil, a red 

 pepper mix, baking soda, or a garlic 

 solution keep the plants pest-free. 



IN CONTRAST to the wide-open 

 open-air market atmosphere out- 

 side, the shop interior, with its dark 

 furniture and glass cases of tiny ob- 

 jects, seems introspective, almost 

 museum-like. A few antiques re- 

 main, but the emphasis is on silk 

 flowers, dried arrangements, minia- 

 tures, collectibles (Boyd's Bears), 

 crafts, Maine Candle Company 

 products... Walls are white; light is 

 softer; there's lots of wood; dried 

 roses hang from the high ceiling 

 (we're lucky — the drop ceiling is 

 only a foot-and-a-half from the 

 original garage ceiling. You wouldn't 

 have this height in an ordinary 

 shop"); there's a scent of potpourri. 

 The choice is deliberate: "We're 

 aiming toward a more elegant, Vic- 

 torian look." 



DENNIS HAS always worked for 

 himself: for the last 16 years, also 

 in reconditioned car sales. He and 

 Tim buy through the major whole- 

 sale producers in the area (Pleasant 

 View Gardens, D.S. Cole Growers, 

 Lavoie Farms, Boucher's Green- 

 house). They want quality, but also 

 a good price, and their background 

 makes them comfortable working 

 out a deal on overproduction, a 

 canceled order, a line that's not 

 selling — then buying in bulk to give 

 their own customers the benefit of 

 the low price per unit. Although 

 people will always want geraniums 

 and mums, many look for the un- 

 usual, "so this works out well. And 

 if I buy in bulk, I don't have to sell 



And once people 

 buy once, 



he works hard 



to keep them coming back. 



"If a family buys 



a big pumpkin, 



I'll give a little one 



to the kids 



-no charge. 



If the bill comes to $20.95, 



$20 will do. 



They'll be back.' 



out to make money." And the unex- 

 pected is what makes the place in- 

 teresting. 



This summer, Dennis went to a 

 bankruptcy auction in Holden and 

 ended up buying an entire lot — 120 

 pieces — of concrete statuary. The 

 deal was good; the mix, eclectic — 

 nymphs and madonnas, gargoyles 

 and fishermen The price was right 

 and it's selling He'll have more 

 next year. 



Finances are computerized, in- 

 ventories are not — "things happen 

 too fast." 



Open seven days a week through- 

 out the year, they count on unusual 

 items, specials, and heavy trade on 

 winter holidays to get them through 

 the off-season. Last Valentine's 

 Day, they sold 7000 roses. This 

 Christmas, along with wreaths and 

 1200 trees, there are "kissing 

 balls" — five-inch styrofoam balls 

 covered with sprigs of balsam and 

 decorated with ribbon and orna- 

 ments. Four women are creating 

 600 of them on a piecework basis. 



"Keep your costs down:" this ad- 

 age is acted upon in many ways. 

 Tim points out a cooler: "I got it 

 used. It works fine. New, it would 

 have cost ten times as much." He 



uses found objects in practical 

 ways: nothing's fancy — benches are 

 made of old pallets, snow fencing, 

 cement blocks. As long as the qual- 

 ity of the material on them is high, 

 no one seems to mind. The front 

 gardens function as production 

 beds — rows of coneflower and shasta 

 daisies can be dug and sold or di- 

 vided and grown as next year's 

 crop. Cut flowers that don't sell are 

 hung from the shop ceiling to dry. 

 Some are used in arrangements; 

 others are sold by the bunch. 

 Tim advertises heavily — once a 

 week throughout the year — in the 

 Concord Monitor and less often in 

 some of the smaller local papers. In 

 spring and at Christmas, he adver- 

 tises on radio as well. Radio? He's 

 not sure if it's worth it. .."now that 

 people have found us, the best ad- 

 vertising is word of mouth..." 



...and color. "Pansies don't sell 

 this time of year," Dennis says as 

 he points out a display of fall dish 

 gardens, "but I bought these for 

 color. We need color to attract cus- 

 tomers. If we sell them, that's fine, 

 but that's not why I bought them." 



There's color and texture every- 

 where: banners, pumpkins, mums, 

 statuary, old farm equipment. ..one 

 side of the shop is covered with 

 wagon wheels, oxen yokes, cross- 

 cut saws. Out front are the gardens: 

 a rail fence along the front, a vibur- 

 num hedge behind part of it; flower 

 gardens — lamb's ear, delphinium, 

 verbena, coneflower, coreopsis — 

 along the rest; a flagstone walk is 

 planted with white creeping thyme 

 ("you can step on it without hurting 

 it .. .") Dennis plans to add pictures 

 of the plants in bloom so people 

 will be more inclined to buy them 

 when they're not in flower. 

 The houses and display areas are 

 built perpendicular to the highway, 

 so there's lots of visible activity — 

 people want to stop. 



Dennis stresses the importance 

 of attitude: "If you want to sell fifty 

 mums, buy fifty; if you want to sell 



24 



THE PLANTSMAN 



