THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 11, 1995 TAG: 9505100164
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAWSON A. MILLS JR., CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Long : 135 lines
NOT ALL DISCOVERIES require us to visit distant places. Some are made in our own backyards. Some even begin with a phone call.
In February, a call brought me an assignment to interview a family of farmers in Surry. The day and the job were such a pleasure that, whenever I saw the assigning editor, I asked when she would send me back.
In March, she did send me back - and then some. For more than three weeks, she had me traveling the highways and byways of Southside, writing stories and taking pictures for last Sunday's ``No Place Like Home'' supplement to the Sun.
Wife, Peg, or daughter, Sandia, 13, often went along for the ride. We made all sorts of discoveries that we're still sharing and talking about.
Assignments beget assignments. Now I've been asked to do a biweekly piece on places and things in Suffolk that create that sense of discovery and, occasionally, wonder.
It should be particularly useful to newcomers, but I also hope it will cause longtime residents to look anew at their surroundings.
S UNDAY IS MOTHER'S DAY. What better way to begin our journey than with a tour of greenhouses and nurseries that provide the flowers and plants associated with this day?
The area has many to choose from; a visit to two on Virginia Route 10 and one on U.S. Route 17 provides a sampling of what they offer.
Smithfield Gardens, on 17, is contending with work on the section of highway it faces, but the way in and out are clearly marked and convenient. It's worth the effort to follow the signs for a visit.
Owners Bill and Linda Pinkham have been in business since 1972. Linda has a master's in plant pathology, and it is put to good use during her radio call-in show the second Saturday of each month (except June) on WNIS, 850 AM. She also does gardening shows for WTAR, 790 AM. Classes for the gardener, from beginner to advanced, are offered at their shop.
``All it's got to have for Mother's Day is a bloom,'' says Linda. ``We try to have some things you wouldn't find in a grocery store - the rare or unusual.''
They've got blooms in abundance. Geraniums, hydrangeas, gardenias, hibiscuses and even orchids are available in pots, bowls and hanging baskets, neatly adorned with Mother's Day bows.
Lots of kids and dads come in the day before Mother Day. Ah, procrastination. The kids want ``showy,'' Linda says, while dads think ``survival.'' And planting.
Garden tools are also popular. There's the ``Scoot-n-Do,'' a seat on wheels with a place for tools and even a drink. Linda pulls out a pair of ``high-powered pruners, Swiss forged,'' noting ``mothers put in requests for these. You can just carry them around, and people think you're smart, you know what you're doing.''
Linda and her husband have a staff of 60, including landscapers, throughout the summer.
C ONTINUING DOWN 17 to the cutover to Route 10, near St. Luke's Church, a left turn at the intersection points you back toward downtown Suffolk.
In Chuckatuck, Kelly's Nursery and Greenhouse is on the right. Its 10 greenhouses offer a stunning array of plants of every imaginable color and description. But the real scene-stealers are the friendly and curious felines, including a couple of pure white ones.
Owner Ronnie Kelly also has Rocky, a large black Lab, close by his side. All coexist amidst the floral beauty, a seeming Garden of Eden.
Kelly has one greenhouse devoted to retail sales. Most of his sales, however, are to retail chains. Gene Walters, elder statesman of the Hampton Roads grocery business, was visiting the same day we were.
The top-selling Mother's Day item? ``Hanging baskets,'' Kelly says without hesitation.
``No question that's a hot item,'' adds Walters.
``Hanging baskets and geraniums,'' continues Kelly. ``Any plant with color, blooming plants.''
For Kelly, things pick up the first week in May. The week before Mother's Day is busy, and Mother's Day can be the busiest day of the year, says Kelly. It's the best day for plants, adds Walters. Ah, those procrastinators again.
Kelly and Walters have this advice for shoppers wondering what to get for mother: If you see something you like, buy it.
Kelly's staff is happy to show you what they have and help you make a selection. Except for the cats. They're not for sale.
B ACK ON 10 AGAIN, heading toward downtown, it's a short ride to ABS Greenhouses, on the left side of the highway. It's primarily a wholesale outlet according to owner Gary Berard, a biologist.
They do some retail sales, ``to people who have been coming for a long time,'' but it's low-key, so as not to compete with ABS' wholesale customers, several of whom are close by.
``Our niche is florists,'' Berard explains. ``Others supply the garden centers. Our items are pretty much flowering stuff; dish gardens are one of our big items.''
Foliage is a big-seller at ABS, taking up much of the space in eight greenhouses. Except for holidays, when it's flowering plants, blooming things, and the dish gardens.
``Easter and Secretary's Day are getting to be just as large as Mother's Day,'' says Berard. ``It starts with Valentine's Day, then after Mother's Day the summer just goes dead.''
Berard points out that most people don't realize how hard florists work just before and on holidays, often staying late into the night to make sure each order is filled correctly.
Berard's busy periods end a few days before the holidays. Until the last truck leaves, however, his staff has to hustle, arranging attractive dish gardens in a variety of ceramic and clay dishes and hanging baskets, as well as preparing orders for shipment to area florists.
Wrapping up my last nursery visit, glancing back at the rows of greenhouses filled with a rainbow of colors, it seemed to me they should offer one additional item:
Pictures of the blooms, in a blaze of color, postcard-sized or suitable for framing, could be snapped up for holidays or anytime reminders of just how glorious nature can be.
Remember, you can discover it right here in Suffolk. Happy Mother's Day! ILLUSTRATION: Photo by DAWSON MILLS
Owner Ronnie Kelly offers 10 greenhouses at his Chuckatuck nursery
with a stunning array of plants of every imaginable color and
description - and a few curious felines.
Graphic
FOR YOUR DISCOVERY
ABS Greenhouses (Atlantic Biological Supply), 4148 Godwin Blvd.,
255-4148.
R.W. Askew Nursery, 100 N. Cherry Grove Road, 255-4498.
Bennett's Creek Wholesale Nursery, 3613 Bridge Road (wholesale
only), 483-1425.
Green Acres Nursery, 3901 Holland Road, 539-8421.
Johnson's Gardens, 3201 Holland Road, 539-0293 or 539-1919.
Kelly's Nursery & Greenhouse, Va. Routes 10 and 125, 255-4171.
Knotts Creek Wholesale Nursery, 6120 Knotts Creek Road (wholesale
only), 483-6383.
Smithfield Gardens Inc., U.S. Route 17, 238-2511 or 399-4331.ABS
Greenhouses (Atlantic Biological Supply), 4148 Godwin Blvd.,
255-4148.
R.W. Askew Nursery, 100 N. Cherry Grove Road, 255-4498.
by CNB