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Nursery Tour #3: Garden Fever (Part 1 of 6)

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We set out on our deluxe coach bus at 8 a.m. on day two of the nursery tours. Tour #3, “New & Unusual Plants & Places to Inspire,” will take us to six different growers and retailers.

Stop number one is at Garden Fever! an urban gardening oasis at the corner of NE 24th and Fremont in the Alameda neighborhood of Portland. The staff offers helpful advice on sustainable gardening practices, a select group of edibles and ornamentals—including more than 100 varieties of organic and sustainably grown tomatoes—and creatively merchandised items for home and garden.

“It’s great to be a retailer around a subject you love,” said co-proprietress Lori Vollmer, who owns the shop with her husband Richard.

Click here to view a photo album of Garden Fever.

The Vollmers took over the store from a previous retailer who went bankrupt. With their backgrounds in retail sales, they made sure out of the gate to pay vendors on time, even paying cash for plants and hard goods before establishing credit until vendors were comfortable dealing with them. 

Tour attendees took in the well-dressed shop windows full of hanging planters and garden statuary and seating arrangements. Lori said she attends various gift shows around the country to keep her shop well-stocked with a wide assortment of urban gardening goods, from boots to watering cans, books, gloves, and pots. 

“Our sales outside and inside are about 50/50,” she said. 

It’s surprising to learn that despite so much inventory, she doesn’t use a POS system. “We know what’s selling by looking around the store: instinct is what keeps you in business,” she said. 

In the back of the store is the garden center. Lori said she’s seen continued strong sales among vegetables and other edibles, and dirt is a perennial sales leader for her.

“20, 30, 40-year-olds, that generation is always wanting that fun of growing your own food,” Lori said. “I thought the peak was a year or two ago, but it keeps going.”

The Vollmers have attended the Farwest Trade Show every year since they’ve been in business. “Last year we placed more orders at the show than ever,” Lori said. When walking the show floor she looks for new sources of plants, especially growers of natives and “departments I’m weak in, plus some hard goods and vendors who offer buying discounts.”