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MEMBER PROFILE 



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flowers. There's a small selection of 

 trees, a lath house...; a pond in 

 front of the production houses will 

 become a water garden with natural- 

 ized plantings around it. 



The soil is good river bottom 

 soil, but Tim still has it tested and 

 the amount and type of fertilizer 

 spread is based on the results; un- 

 derground soaker hoses supply wa- 

 ter when needed. 



Because there are so many ele- 

 ments, creating the right traffic flow 

 is important. This is done here in 

 several ways. Customers can park 

 on the grass along the front of the 

 garden center on either side of the 

 driveway. But on the left, the cars 

 face a narrow bed of weeping cher- 

 ries, bulbs, and perennials that runs 

 the length of the property. The soil 

 is mounded — the bed's a berm — a 

 clear, but friendly, suggestion that 

 customers enter via the driveway at 

 the end of the planting. 



On the other side, the customer 

 faces no barriers in front of the cars 

 are sections of weed mat on which 

 potted perennials are grown. Be- 

 tween these are paths of lawn, all 

 leading into the garden center. Tim 

 keeps something blossoming in the 

 foreground. People look at this, 

 then see another. ..and another... 

 without thinking about it, they're 

 choosing plants for themselves. 



CANAAN WAS ONCE a lumber town, 

 but now it's a bedroom community 

 for people working in the Upper 

 Valley. These are Tim's customer 

 base and he often has their inter- 

 ests in mind when he chooses what 

 to emphasize. 



"Perennials are major" and Tim's 

 potting up early summer plugs and 

 six-pacs into gallon containers for 

 sales this fall as well as next year. 

 "What sells perennials is having a 

 variety." Tim has over 200, but his 

 emphasis is on "improving the qual- 

 ity of the grounds and service 

 rather than expansion. I'll produce 

 what I can (he currently produces 



70% of what he sells), but I can 

 serve more people better by advis- 

 ing them, then buying in what they 

 need." 



IVlarketing is beginning — a new 

 sign is up ("our first sign — the 

 wagon and word of mouth had al- 

 ways been enough") and this year. 

 Uncle Tim's offered a twilight lec- 

 ture series, sending post card re- 

 minders to people on a growing 

 mailing list. 



Uncle Tim's is a family operation. 

 Tim's mother and sister, as well as 

 his wife, LeeAnn (a clinical psy- 

 chologist), help on weekends and 

 days off. But Tim is often here 

 alone and over time, he's become 

 another person, known as "Uncle 

 Tim." "Uncle Tim" is a lot like Tim 

 Lucia: he has a big mustache, wears 

 a baseball cap and sunglasses; he's 

 friendly, helpful — he's a good uncle. 

 Marketing one's own personality has 

 its dangers — one could easily be- 

 come a caricature — but right now, 

 Tim Lucia and Uncle Tim are a 

 pleasantly unself-conscious mix. 



THIS YEAR IS THE FIRST Tim will 

 be open year round, "so we'll be 

 feeling our way along." 



To prepare, he's diversified. 

 IVlany customers are animal owners 

 and he is now a Nutrena Feeds 

 (large and companion animal feed; 

 bird supplies) dealer. And the cold 

 frame is filled with baled shavings, 

 something useful to animal owners 

 in winter. He sells locally made 

 crafts and — aiming at the middle- 

 aged homeowner who's tired of 

 chopping wood — Monitor direct-vent 

 kerosene heaters. 



Christmas is important. There are 

 no poinsettias ("the retail market's 

 saturated"), but there is a Christmas 

 shop and lots of handmade wreathes 

 ("last year we made 400"), swags, 

 and arches... 



...which connects nicely with 

 Tim's second enterprise — the Christ- 

 mas tree operation. 



The tree farm is on 43 acres of 



high ridge line about a mile-and-a- 

 quarter away. Like the garden cen- 

 ter, it's divided into well-organized 

 blocks. Twelve acres have been 

 cleared and planted; the rest re- 

 mains woods Each year he plants 

 1000 trees (usually about three- 

 quarters of an acre) — a mix of 

 Scotch pine, Fraser fir, fir balsam, 

 and Norway spruce — in rows six feet 

 apart, individual trees five feet 

 apart (This allows access with a 

 walk-behind mower.) A block is har- 

 vested when the trees reach six 

 feet — usually over a two-year period 

 seven-to-eight years after planting. 

 Once the trees reach twelve feet, 

 the entire block is cut, the stumps 

 removed, and the land planted with 

 winter rye. And a new crop is 

 planted the next spring 



Trees are sheared once a season; 

 insect problems are controlled using 

 a backpack sprayer. (He tends to 

 monitor for hot spots and then deal 

 with those, rather than do overall 

 spraying.) As yet there has been no 

 deer damage. 



Presently, trees are cut a few at a 

 time and brought to the garden 

 center, but he and LeeAnn hope to 

 build a new home on the property 

 (on clear days, there's a spectacular 

 view of Carrigain) and he sees cre- 

 ating a retail business here as well. 

 This involves bringing in gravel to 

 improve the road and building a 

 barn and creating a place for park- 

 ing. Tim sees food — doughnuts, ci- 

 der, cocoa — and some sort of horse- 

 drawn ride — as part of buying a tree. 



The idea of dovetailing these two 

 enterprises (and within them, the 

 many smaller ones) and filling both 

 with activities seems promising. 

 Even up here, families drive long 

 distances searching out tidy and 

 wholesome outdoor experiences. 

 Uncle Tim's could easily become a 

 part of this lucrative circuit. (B.P.) 



Uncle Tim's Tree Farm & Garden Center 

 is on Route 4 just west of Canaan. The 

 phone number there is 603-523-4909. 



OCTOBER'fNOVEIMBER 1996 



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