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14 CapitalPress.com August 19, 2016 Nursery thrives despite remote location By BRENNA WIEGAND For the Capital Press Marlene Godfrey started Godfrey Nursery in 1981 with little more than a 50-foot green- house. Located outside the small town of Aumsville in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, the nursery is now owned by Godfrey’s daughter, Jennifer, and her hus- band, Darren Schad. It operates on about 3 acres, with an ex- pansion underway. Godfrey Nursery produces annuals, perennials, vegetables, hanging baskets and containers, shrubs, trees and a full selection of hard goods including a gift shop and yard art by local craft- ers. “We’re kind of unique in what we do here,” Darren said. “We’re like a wholesale nursery for retail; we grow almost ev- erything ourselves. We’re prop- agating every other week from December to March, averaging 35,000 cuttings at a time.” Their biggest trade is in hanging baskets. They produce more than 20,000 baskets annu- ally from the thousands of lats CopenHaven Farms Nursery “We’re at the root of the business.” Quality Oregon-Grown Rootstock & Seedlings for Fruit, Flowering and Shade Trees. 503-985-7161 • FAX 503-985-7876 www.copenhavenfarms.com N16-2/#8 Building Healthy Soils of annual lowers they put out every year. The number goes up every year. Also on the rise is the call for vegetable starts. “The demand is crazy for vegetables now; a lot of people have their own little greenhous- es,” Darren said. “The biggest pick-up has been among the younger people.” The nursery is open daily March through September. In response to repeated customer requests, this year for the irst time it will be open during the holidays. During the three weekends following Thanks- giving, they’ll sell greenery baskets, containers and other gift items. “That’s kind of how we’ve driven the nursery for the past 30 years, people asking if we’ll do things,” Darren said. “It’s risky; you don’t want to go too crazy.” They employ some social media for promotions but the bulk of their clientele comes through word-of-mouth. Watching over the decades, a pattern has become evident: Regular customers being show- Brenna Wiegand/For the Capital Press Godfrey Nursery owners Darren and Jennifer Godfrey Schad rearrange newly grown hanging baskets. The Aumsville, Ore., nursery produces more than 20,000 baskets annually. ing up as soon as the nursery opens for the season, peaking around May 1. June then brings an annual lood of new custom- ers who’ve just heard about the place from those other custom- ers. “Mom passed away from Alzheimer’s last spring,” Jenni- fer said. “Sadly, this prevented her from enjoying the growth of the nursery through the past years.” Since assuming ownership in 1997, Jennifer and Darren have learned who’s really in charge. “Without a doubt, Mother Nature drives the bus,” Dar- ren said. “When the weather’s good, sales are good. You’ve got to watch for severe cold, too. I do a lot of staying up at night to watch the greenhouses. Though we try to stay preventa- tive there are always things like heaters that decide they don’t want to work.” While their location off the beaten path has prevented even some locals from discovering Godfrey Nursery, it doesn’t deter visitors from as far away as Seattle, Idaho and Central Oregon, including landscap- ers, independent garden center owners and municipalities. “They’ll bring a big trail- er or truck and start illing it,” Darren said. “Some make monthly trips.” COMPOST: 24 - 80 hp., 4 wheel drive Compact Synchro- Shuttle Hydro 24, 28, 35, 47 hp • Adds valuable organic matter Model 4020R • Improves soil structure • Increases water penetration and holding capacity • Stabilizes pH and helps store nutrients BRANSON BOSS 800 UTV’s: Two-or-Four door models have 60hp and speeds up to 58mph. • Front Winch • 14” Wheels with 27” Tires • Hard Doors & Roof • Top Mount LED Light Bar • Electric Dump Bed Call Robie 509-220-4234 Authorized Dealer of Pik Rite Manure & Compost Spreaders SERIES 3120R 4020R 3520R 4525R 3510H 4720H 6640 8050 www.Barr-Tech.net Sprague, WA THE TRACTOR STORE (541) 342-5464 5450 W. 11 th , Eugene, OR N16-1/#14 www.capitalpress.biz/hosted/tractorstore N16-1/#5
