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Meet the Leader: Joe Dula

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General ManagerMoana Nursery, Canby, Oregon OAN member since 2012 OAN roles/positions:• Farwest Show committee member.• OAN Board – Container Grower Position #3• Clayton W. Hannon Distinguished Service Award, 2019 Tell us about yourself I grew up in the nursery business. My parents, Joe and Judy Dula, started Dula’s Nursery in Canby, Oregon, in the late […]

Sustainability is our calling card

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It is fitting that this issue of Digger focuses on sustainability. Sustainability is embedded in how our nurseries operate, and it comes standard with all of our products. Last Labor Day, our region and the nearby Cascade forests came under attack from raging wildfires. Communities were destroyed, people were forced to evacuate, and the sky […]

May 2021 – Growing minds: A special issue

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The nursery and greenhouse industry has a critical relationship with colleges and universities, including the programs that train future leaders, the researchers who drive change and improvement, and the scholarship programs that help students finance their education. This three-part issue dives into the fruits of those labors, as well as lessons from a nostoc control […]

Lessons of the pandemic

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Every business sector has had to adapt to the pandemic. The various trade associations representing these sectors also had to navigate the same challenging environment, but they had a double responsibility. They had to steer their industry through the pandemic, as well. Nurseries did fairly well after an uncertain start to the pandemic. Other economic […]

April 2021 – The Greenhouse Issue

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From selling arrangements in high quality containers and keeping customers coming back, to discovering the latest technology for efficient greenhouse heating, the annual Greenhouse Issue has the best tips for you. We also meet the people who grew Spring Creek Gardens from a small fruit stand, to a big box store wholesale grower. This issue […]

Spring Creek Gardens Inc.

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Founded: 1984 by Brent and Becky Skiles Production: 100% Greenhouse Known for: High quality, wholesale bedding plants, vegetables, herbs, containers, and baskets, grown with an environmental ethic OAN member since 1995 Key personnel: Brent and Becky Skiles, owners; Renee Phelps, chief operating officer; Zach Phelps, transportation and projects manager; Jen Skiles, finance and human relations […]

Brighter days ahead

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This past month marked the one-year anniversary of our lives getting flipped upside down by COVID-19. What began as a passing phrase on the news ticker quickly turned into what some expected could be the Great Recession 2.0. Uncertainty became the norm. Expectations changed by the day. We were all in need of direction, and […]

Flowering cherry trees then and now

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Flowering cherry trees remain popular, from old mainstays to new selections, with more on the way It’s March, and soon showy displays of Japanese flowering cherry trees will trumpet their annual announcement that spring has arrived. Thus, consumers will be prompted to head to garden centers with hopes of adding the ephemeral beauty of these […]

Meet the Leader: Ben Verhoeven

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PresidentPeoria Gardens Inc.OAN member since 2012 OAN roles/positions:• OAN Board of Directors Executive Committee – member at large Tell us about yourself As a second-generation nursery owner, I grew up on a farm my father, Tom Verhoeven, started in 1983. My first job was filling flats for pocket change. Agriculture was just one my interests […]