Rapid City Journal Rapid City, South Dakota, USA Company planting seeds of relationship building
By Cathie Draine, Special to the Journal About a month ago, the avalanche of gardening catalogs began ... slowly. And that was a good thing because one of the first to arrive was a new one to me, a 40-some page opus from D. Landreth Seed Company, The Oldest Seed House in America, Purveyors of Fine Seed Since 1784. A quick glance through the large (9 inch by 12 inch), beautifully designed pages suggested a pot of tea was necessary to accompany the reading of this, cover to cover. In the same mail, my copy of The American Gardener, the magazine of the American Horticultural Society, arrived and it carried a lengthy article about you guessed it Landreth Seeds. A little history The company was begun in 1784 by Englishman David Landreth who ultimately settled in Philadelphia determined to obtain and sell seeds that grow. Not only was he committed to selling the highest quality seed, he was also interested in locating and bring into production new varieties. A measure of his success is that Landreth introduced Bloomsdale spinach (still a staple), freestone peaches in 1790, the zinnia from Mexico in 1798, and the first truly white potato in 1811. The company established the first trial grounds for testing the purity of seed stocks in 1800, foreshadowing by a century the kind of quality control and plant testing done by a number of organizations now - the All America Selections, the Perennial Plant Association and others. For a time, Landreth seeds were known worldwide. A fascinating bit of the companys history is that they sold seeds to every American president from George Washington to Theodore Roosevelt. New life The company was passed down through the Landreth family for years and finally out of family hands in 1942. Landreth Seed Company languished, almost dormant, with the integrity of the seed storage threatened by its location in a company warehouse populated mostly by mice. The company was down but not out. Enter venture capitalist and passionate gardener Barbara Melera, who was looking several years ago for a company to buy. Here in the warehouse was a company in need of direction and development. It had a long, respected place in American gardening history, an unbroken commitment to seed quality, a passion for preservation and promotion of heirloom seeds. As Melera read through old catalogs and almanacs, she formed a growing sense of comradeship and shared purpose with the gentlemen who really made the company. According to Pamela Baxters article in The American Gardener, Melera believes that the original owner, David Landreth, would recognize that folks are looking for plants that will grow in smaller areas. We have those. Just look at the special selections in the catalog for patio gardening. And many of those choices are heirlooms, Melera said. David Landreth II was responsible for the expansion of the business. We feel his hand in our determination to preserve for the future with the large selection of heirloom seeds. And grandson of David, Burnett Landreth, is understood as a gardener with a social conscience, a man who truly understood and valued the relationship of the gardener to the soil, who would shake his head in wonder that gardening is taught to children as a science class. Thus in the catalog is a wonderful selection of seeds for a childrens garden. Who wouldnt want a Golden Midget watermelon, a 70-day bright yellow, 3-pound wonder? And consider the fun for children to grow plants that tell time the Four O Clocks (a favorite of George Washington) and the Moonflower. Or think what a great time it would be to grow a Teddy Bear (sunflower), a Canary Bird, Oriole, Polar Bear or even Will Rogers (zinnia). Lets talk Impressed with the passion for seeds, history and the intensity of the gardening relationship that so permeates the catalog, and really wanting to know more, I chatted with owner, Barbara Melera on the phone. Youve owned the company for two and a half years now. How is it going? I asked. Growing dramatically, she said. Even though the company was asleep for several years, we discovered we had a strong base of little mom and pop stores and home-owned hardware stores that consistently carried our seeds. And to our delight, we found that we also had a loyal base of mail-order customers. Our challenge now is to succeed, not as competition to the huge seed companies, but to develop a strong customer base that shares the values of the company high quality seed, promoting heirlooms, and, in a sense growing a social and business conscience. We discussed what appears to be an increasing tendency for acceptance of unfamiliar varieties of vegetables not only in backyard plots but also in farmers markets, community co-operative gardens and organic markets. By growing, for example, tomatoes like the yellow Arkansas Marvel, the wonderfully wrinkled Black from Tula, the German Red Strawberry, the Great White, and the red and yellow striped Roman Candle, we not only keep those varieties in production, we also improve our nutrition. Moving on No dust has accumulated on the shoes of Melera and her staff. One of the biggest challenges was to get a first quality catalog into the publics hands, and they have done that well. The 2006 catalog is beautifully organized and embellished with not only comments from David Landreths original catalogs, but also wonderful line drawing illustrations and generous information about each selection being offered. The Web site is beautiful, informative and easy to navigate. It is www.landrethseeds.com. On the Web site, read the archived newsletters, check out the how to grow information and look at the selection of gift sets. The gallery of plant photographs is instructive and being expanded regularly. I bought several sets of the notecards easily some of the loveliest I have ever owned. Landreth Seeds is the fifth oldest corporation in American. It is once again in the gentle and guiding hands of people who, according to Melera, understand that gardening is really relationship building with a person, soil, seeds, plants and thats really something we want to promote. To request a catalog, call 1-800-654-2407 or use the Web site: www.landrethseeds.com Cathie Draine is a member of the Garden Writers Association and a SDSU/Pennington County Extension Service Master Gardener. She lives and gardens in Black Hawk. Readers may send comments or questions to her in care of The Rapid City Journal, Box 450, Rapid City SD 57709. ______________________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
