Feelin’ groovy

Jared Hughes’s entry into the plant and greenhouse business happened naturally. During college, he propagated succulents on his parents’ property and sold them at farmers markets.

“Jared likes hippie culture,” Jared’s wife Liz said. “He started out calling the business Groovy Agave, which has a nice ring to it, but no one knew what agave was 15 years ago. We switched the name to Groovy Plants Ranch for a Western theme that connects with succulents, and it’s a memorable name. Once he came up with that, there was no looking back.”

Ten years ago, the Hugheses purchased a former herb garden establishment in Marengo, Ohio, where they’d establish a one-of-a-kind garden center. They were grateful for existing buildings and hoop houses on the grounds, which Liz said put them about five years ahead of where they would have been had they purchased property without buildings.

The first project was creating a checkout area in the style of an Old West town, and next, a rock garden. Customers liked the fun additions, so the Hugheses continued to add them. As the business grew, the additions became part of the experience, and customers brought friends and relatives to see this quirky garden center.

As Jared and Liz pursued their goal of creating a fun garden center that sold cool plants, the business evolved into far more. Waypoints throughout the thoughtfully landscaped grounds include Fairyland, Armadilla Villa, Hendrix Experience and a Children’s Garden. These, along with a full array of house plants and garden supplies, all contribute to Groovy’s unique character.

Liz said the plan wasn’t to create a destination garden center but to do the best job a garden center could do. Because customers responded positively to on-site relics such as the Hobbit House and a hippie van, those and similar items became part of the experience.

Because they grow perennials, the Hugheses still maintain hoop houses.

“We grew only out of the Quonsets until several years ago,” Liz said. “Now we have two larger traditional gutter-connect greenhouses and our newest greenhouse that we’re very proud of.”

Liz described the greenhouse as a cutting-edge structure that was shipped directly from the Netherlands. The walls roll up like a normal gutter-connect and a weather system helps control the environment. Instead of opening on a hinge, the roof rolls up to each peak to open completely, allowing heat to escape. The ambitious project was only the second one built in the U.S.

The new greenhouse is in stark contrast to an 1859 schoolhouse on the property, which the Hugheses converted to a rock shop. “The rock shop is a more recent addition to the business,” Liz said. “It isn’t a normal garden center addition – it’s a Groovy Plants Ranch thing.”

Sanitation is a vital aspect of any greenhouse operation, and the Hugheses take it seriously. The Groovy team works hard to keep public and non-public areas in the greenhouses spotless. Blacktop floors contribute to easy and thorough cleaning.

“We’ve learned that solarized sanitation works as well or better than chemical sanitation,” Liz said. “After the perennials are out, we close the hoop houses. The annuals building is sanitized more traditionally. We don’t grow mums, but we have other fall crops, so there’s time to clean up in between.”

Garden centers are all about color, and Groovy Plants Ranch maintains grounds that are visually appealing with vivid plant arrays throughout the seasons. The Hugheses believe more color is better.

“We also go for cool colors,” Liz said. “We sold almost 100 varieties of peonies during our peony event. There were peonies in all the color categories. We might have more pink peonies, but they don’t all have the same interesting coloration or flower shape.” (White peonies are available but aren’t prioritized because Groovy is about saturated color.)

A popular item at Groovy is hanging baskets. Liz said, “We grow some in-house and also work with a partner grower.”

One eye-catching basket option is waterfall begonias, which Liz said are ideal for most customers because this begonia can handle almost any kind of light except unrelenting, all-day sun. Another popular basket plant is filled with hummingbird salvia, a plant that has grown in popularity after its introduction about three years ago. This plant’s drooping habit is ideal for baskets and attracts hummingbirds at eye level.

Groovy Plants Ranch began offering classes when the business was young. Liz said classes are ideal for introducing the business to people who may not be avid gardeners.

She believes good staff are the key to developing a strong customer base, so Groovy Plants hires people who are either experienced or teachable.

“One of the things we look for beyond knowledge or skills is someone who seems like they’re going to be nice and willing to put in the effort and hustle our garden center requires,” Liz said. “We are a lot different than almost any other garden center, so plant or growing knowledge is a plus, but we can teach it. We want people who are friendly among the team and the public.”

Liz often hires retirees who are looking for a fun, part-time job and are knowledgeable about plants. Horticulture students from Ohio State and students from the horticulture program at Ohio State’s Wooster Agricultural Technical Institute (ATI) are also among the employees.

To keep customers informed about available plants and upcoming events, Jared and Liz create short video clips for social media. Groovy hosts events throughout the year such as the Lily Bash, Peony Palooza, Succulent Solstice and Lavender Daze.

“For Lavender Daze, we’ll have 25 vendors who feature lavender in their products,” Liz said. “Bakers will have cookies with lavender, others will have lavender soaps and candles, and we’ll have a lot of lavender plants available for sale.”

She’s found that plant displays and landscaping help customers select the right plants for home gardens.

“Show beds give people ideas about what and how they can plant,” Liz said. “We have botanical garden signs in front of featured plants so people know what they are. This year we’re putting in a traditional Japanese garden with a koi pond in the middle. The garden will feature miniature conifers and natives that fit the Japanese garden repertoire. People can see what plants will look like at three or four years old in the garden, and smaller plants will be sold in the store.”

Groovy Plants Ranch is open year-round, and thanks to experienced personnel, the Hugheses can plan an occasional get-away.

“Jared always says business trips are worthwhile even if we don’t get out of it what we thought,” Liz said. “There’s always a connection to be made, gardens to see or new plants to experience.”

For a groovy experience, head online to groovyplantsranch.com.

by Sally Colby