Young Voices: A Good Ol’ Fashioned Road Trip

Jessie Feuerbach

I returned from California Spring Trials kicking myself that I hadn’t made my flight reservations before I left. To fly from Chicago to St. Louis had increased in price by over $200 each way and the flights to get closer to my final destination—the Ozarks region of Missouri to check chrysanthemum breeder stock production—were even more outrageous.

‘What if I just drive it?’ I thought to myself. I pulled up Google Maps to route it. Yikes—1,300 miles round trip? In three to four days? Not unheard of, but that’s a fair amount of windshield time. After crunching a few more numbers and checking a few more airlines and rental car companies, I was coming to the sad realization that driving was by far the most economical route. I started in on attempting to convince myself that this will be a “fun” trip …

Upon arriving in St. Louis, Tomasovic’s Greenhouse was my first stop. I arrived after hours and found a friendly lone staff member to whom I explained my purpose for being there. I located the plants I came for, left near a quaint gazebo surrounded by a well-manicured landscape. For a moment, I forgot I was at a wholesale greenhouse, which a few short hours prior was likely bustling with the shipping of an early spring day. I later learned that two of the greenhouses still in use today were part of the horticultural exhibit in the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. As I departed this charming, family-owned business that pairs a successful wholesale operation with a tranquil hideaway from the hustle and bustle of St. Louis, I found myself thinking this dreaded road trip might not be so bad after all.

An unexpected turn led me to Prairie Flowers in King City. Off the beaten path doesn’t begin to describe this family-owned business. About 7 miles northeast of King City, the endless acres of farmland led us to a colorful greenhouse storefront off a gravel road. Walking inside, I saw neatly organized and spaced out geraniums, petunias, calibrachoa—all of the necessities a gardener could dream of needing. And the quality! We had driven over an hour that morning to get there and we were not unlike others, making this independent garden center truly a destination.

We talked with a couple who had driven from southern Iowa to get their fill of annuals and perennials, in addition to the mixed combos and hanging baskets Prairie Flowers has become known for. Prairie Flowers looked like a living Pinterest board—succulent displays using repurposed household furniture, patriotic combos complete with an American flag and matching ceramic containers, pastel painted tin watering cans with a single calibrachoa in them. No wonder it took us over three hours to leave. The owner, in addition to her knowledgeable staff, was incredibly friendly and charismatic, and the place was lively the entire time we were there.

A couple days later, while I was headed back north and east towards Chicagoland, I had time to reflect upon what turned out to be an impressively pleasant departure from the normal work trip. As a token Millennial, like much of my generation, I’ve come to expect (read: entitled to) immediate results and instant gratification. When flights and travel plans weren’t progressing as I’d hoped, I was admittedly irritated and displeased. But had it not been for the driving of 1,352 miles over four days, I would have likely never stumbled upon these delightful instances of some of our industry’s most devoted and hardworking members.

This trip provided many miles of reflection and a fresh perspective. A reminder to take time out of my busy life and stop to smell the roses. It left me with an increased level of excitement to see our industry alive, well and thriving on a spring Saturday morning. I gained a new understanding of how different growers and owners run their business—knowledge that is invaluable and can be shared with others.

I grasped that these life lessons couldn’t have been learned by sitting on another airplane with my earbuds in while working on my laptop. These could only have been collected by seeing with my own eyes and talking face-to-face with others—both actions that are sometimes discounted as being too time-consuming. I’m thankful that in this scenario my travels didn’t go as planned and that my travels led me where they did. I’m most thankful for the enlightening experience provided to me from those I encountered on that journey. GT

Jessie Feuerbach is Grounds Resource and Trials Coordinator for Ball Horticultural Company in West Chicago, Illinois.