Sights from a few days in Oregon’s nursery country

In late August, I traveled to Oregon for the Farwest Show. I reunited with industry friends on the trade show floor, and I greatly enjoyed the wholesale grower tour, which visited Gold Family Farms, Buchholz & Buchholz Nursery, Krueger Tree Farm and Eshraghi Nurseries.

While in the Pacific Northwest, I also attended Monrovia Nursery Company’s Centennial Celebration Expo, which included demonstrations on everything from automation to grafting. I also toured the Breeders Showcase, where nearly 400 new varieties were on display, and after much deliberation, placed my votes for the plants I thought were the cream of the crop.

As part of the event, Monrovia honored four “Landscape Legends” during a private luncheon: Anna Ball, Michael Dirr, Dan Hinkley and Martha Stewart.

To cap off the Centennial Celebration, president/CEO Jonathan Pedersen and the entire Monrovia team threw a huge party for nearly 900 guests. I was impressed how smoothly the nursery turned into an event space. So many people who normally work in plant production or sales switched gears to parking cars and pouring beers for guests. With the catered BBQ dinner and multiple dessert trucks, it was like a super-sized version of a wedding. Anyone who’s had to plan one of those knows it’s not easy. So kudos to Monrovia for making it to 100 and planning a party that lived up to the number.

Above: Editor Matt McClellan poses in a Jeep before touring Monrovia Nursery in Dayton, Oregon.