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Bill Heptig is the buyer for Mahoney's Garden Centers in Winchester, Massachusetts. "We welcome more labeling and product information," Heptig says. "It's especially helpful with fruit trees, where good pollination instruction makes growing much easier for the consumer."
Americans are becoming more aware of the benefits of eating foods that are good for us and its showing at garden centers.
"In the last two years I've seen a real increase in demand for apple and pear trees and also unusual fruits like the plumcot, colonnade and pineapple guava," says Sally Ann Ferry, nursery manager at Wentworth Nursery in Charlotte Hall, Maryland. "The timing of this new brand is very good."
Anthony Simerly, nursery manager of Gales Garden Center in Brunswick, Ohio, sees value in offering new types of fruit. "New varieties are very good for driving customer interest," he says.
Eastern Shore Nursery, which is based in Keller, Virginia on Virginia's Eastern Shore, will begin shipping the Hollybrook Orchards brand in February, 2008. The wholesale nursery provides high quality, container-grown trees and shrubs to garden centers, re-wholesale nurseries and landscapers from North Carolina to Maine and west to St. Louis and Chicago. The company serves about half of the U.S. population, primarily in zones 5 and 6, and some markets in zone 7.
Terry Freed is a pomologist and a sales representative for Eastern Shore and Hollybrook Orchards.
"The Hollybrook Orchards brand gives us a lot more flexibility to offer all of the established varieties and to explore other new fruits so we can provide the largest selection to our garden center customers and the end user," Freed says.
Established in 1966, Eastern Shore Nursery chose the Hollybrook Orchards brand name based on local heritage. Part of Eastern Shore Nursery's growing acreage in Keller is located on the old Hollybrook Farm, circa 1800.
"Eastern Shore Nursery has a great reputation and people trust them," says Jon Shafer, buyer for Holdridge Home & Garden Showplace in Ledyard Center, Ct. "They have great product, and excellent service. You can always reach the person you need to speak with. It's only a matter of time before customers start asking for Hollybrook Orchards by name."
