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Most
people recognize the Gossler Farms Nursery for its
beauty. It would be hard not to with the many
striking plants that surround the acreage. One can
often get overwhelmed with the amazing array of
different colors. Outstanding as colors may be, an
aspect that often gets overlooked is the history
and tradition of the nursery. The
Gossler family has developed the property in east
Springfield, Oregon into one of the finest plant
reserves in the world.
Along with
the three family members that run it,
almost 20,000 plants are housed on the farm. This
will cover 4 aspects of the nursery: Location,
History, Shipping, and Family. The
Gossler Farm spans about 7 acres. The entire
Gossler property, which includes land on both sides
of the McKenzie River, is 150 acres In 1948
the Gosslers bought a parcel of land on Weaver Road
which is located in Springfield, Oregon. This land
was first developed into a farm with mint, sweet
corn, and cattle. While harvesting these crops the
Gosslers also started a hobby of collecting
flowering plants. The first to be planted was
perhaps a large Magnolia lilifora that was
planted by what is now the office building. Its was
planted in 1952, and by the '60's the Gosslers had
become very interested in rhododendrons and
magnolias. Shortly
after, they met the founders of the Rhododendron
Society and the Magnolia Society. Along with
meeting these people, they also met Jane Platt.
Platt was the owner and caretaker of a famous
garden of woody plants in the Portland area. After
seeing Jane's garden the Gosslers came to the
realization that they, too, could make a business
out of selling plants. Platt in her generosity, was
an instrumental part of the foundation of what
would become the Gossler Farms Nursery. Her
knowledge, as well as her gifts of seedlings and
cuttings, helped get the nursery up and running.
"The Platts were among the very first customers at
the young nursery, and soon plants were traveling
back and forth between the Platt and Gossler
gardens" (Horticulture 58). Platt and the Gosslers
would often take trips overseas to Holland and
other European countries to bring back new
plants. After becoming
established locally, the Gosslers decided it was
time to venture outward. In 1972, Gosslers Farms
Nursery put out its first catalog Once the
Gossler's had the business up and running, then
came the problem of how to market and ship the
plants to other states as well as other countries.
Plants come in three different sizes: 1 gallon are
from 6" to 18", 2 gallons are from 18" to 24", and
3 gallons are from 24" to 36". The Gosslers know
the correct variety of their plants because they
use cultivares or known varieties rather than
seedlings. All plants that are listed in the
catalog have been in the nursery for at least one
season. The Gosslers try to list only plants that
they have a quantity of at least 10 plants. The Gosslers make sure that plants in the catalog
are Shipping
occurs from the months of October through December
and then again from February to May. The Gosslers
ship plants during the dormant stage of the plants
lives. Watching the weather has become a big part
of the shipping process. Shipping at the
appropriate times is critical for the
customer. The jobs
of each member of the family play an important role
in keeping the nursery running. Between the three
members, Roger, Majory, and Eric, the work and m Roger is
the main man when it comes to taking care of
plants. He oversees much of the growing, planting,
and potting that are in the garden are taken care
of by Roger. Roger is
usually the one who works with the staff that has
been hired to take care of little jobs. These other
employees will fertilize, clean, sweep, and rake
areas throughout the nursery. Roger is a unique
boss in that he is working alongside his employees
instead of just overseeing. This makes the job much
more enjoyable and rewarding. Roger
will also take care of Marjory,
who is Roger and Eric's mother, does much of her
work in the office. Eric, who
is Marj's son and Roger's younger brother, does
most of the maintenance and heavy work at the
nursery. His jobs include tearing plants out of the
garden, doing the construction work, and the
hauling of waste. He just recently completed the
siding on the horse arena on the northeast corner
of the nursery. If a person was to it the nursery
they would find Eric is generally on the
tractor. On the
tractor with him is his son Pierce who is up for a
ride at any time. Eric and his wife Dawn have been
watching their little son grow up for almost two
years now. Austin Hill & Cory Dixon Gossler Farms Nursery Thurston High School May 19, 2000 Project in its entirity available at The Springfeld Museum 590 Main St. Springfield, OR 97477 |
that
would be made available to outside states and
countries. Hundreds upon hundreds of different
plants can be found in these catalogs.