Today we’d like to introduce you to Beth Simpson.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Rolling Green Nursery is located in Greenland NH, 5 miles outside Portsmouth and 50miles north of Boston. We have a nine acres site, which is “a little bit of heaven off the beaten track”, and “nine acres of pure inspiration.” The owner Rick Simpson started in 1976 with a landscape construction company, and starting evolving into a perennial nursery in 1989. Our store was a garage next to the red bungalow with a tiny attached greenhouse for 14 years.
In 2000, we purchased the abutting 4 acres and renovated the landscape barn into a store and added a larger perennial area, 2 production greenhouses, and pot in pot tree area. All along we started working with consultants to help us develop into the retail grower we are today. Trips to England with Ian Baldwin helped us continually tweak the retail experience and displays and signage we have become known for. Our plant selection is annuals, herbs, vegies, houseplants, perennials, fruits, trees and shrubs, and vines, or “an uncommon palette of edibles, natives and ornamentals.”
Presently, we are part of The Garden Center Group, and the financial, marketing, HR and architectural resources they help with are terrific. I report weekly to the Weekly Department Report which helps me keep a pulse on how we are doing and what my peers are experiencing around the country and Canada.
In 2011, we opened our season with a new 5000 sq. ft. glass greenhouse attached to our retail store. This has helped us considerably in the “shoulder months” extend business undercover. In 2012 we started a Winter Farmers Market, first and third Saturdays in November thru early March, which has been greatly enjoyed by the local community.
This business is greatly affected by weather and finding good labor/team members. Our team is friendly, knowledgeable and Rick and I feel blessed to have employees with us year after year. Building the business and finding a life balance while raising a family was hard, our daughters are really independent as a result of the lots of camps they attended during our busy season. We travelled Christmas and February school vacations. We still get together a few times a year, but they live in DC and NC, so Sunday dinners together are not an option. Luckily we live in a good vacation location.
Rolling Green Nursery is on the web: RollingGreenNursery.com, our phone number is 603-436-2732, and we send out a weekly eblast of featured plants and products, sales, specials, classes, garden tips, in season.
Has it been a smooth road?
Starting a nursery from scratch is a labor of love and life style. Life balance raising kids, and having family time is very hard when it is a first generation business and both parents are all in to make it a success. And in the nursery business it is all about the weather. Building the retail greenhouse was a game changer for extending our season and keeping plants protected in our unpredictable springs. We have been blessed with a great staff over the years. There are lots of bumps in the road, but we are grateful for the team that has helped us grow. Honestly I could write a book on the employees we weren’t so successful with, but I would imagine anyone could, after 40 years, if they were paying attention and had a sense of humor.
Contact Info:
- Address: 64 Breakfast Hill Road
Greenland, NH 03840 - Website: RollingGreenNursery.com
- Phone: 603-436-2732
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