In 2024 our small business will celebrate ten years in business! We are a women-owned and family-run establishment founded in 2014. Our company is a collaborative effort between owners Emily and Austin to change the way we garden in Portland and surrounding Willamette Valley communities. This year after much reflection on how our business has changed we have decided to rebrand to “Green Seed Gardens”. We feel our new name Green Seed Gardens better describes everything we are about, the work we do and the on-site gardens we manage.
When we first launched our business, then called “The Green Seed” we drew on our unique skills, knowledge, and experiences while initially offering “eco-friendly landscaping” and sustainable design plans to customers in Portland, OR. In our early years we were one of only a handful of landscaping companies in Portland which used no synthetic sprays or fertilizers. We were part of an initial wave of sustainability minded professional gardeners entering the industry in the new millennium, taking new approaches and equipped with innovative solutions to the destructive design and management practices that dominated the 20th century. By 2018 the operation had grown substantially, we were running 3 crews and needed more space. We relocated to a small farm property in the nearby town of Canby, OR which is aptly named “The Garden Spot.” Over the next 6 years we put in an acre of display gardens and began building our nursery from the ground up.
When we first opened our Certified Naturally Grown nursery in 2019 we were growing solely to supply our landscape design projects. With dreams to expand the nursery beyond our design work, we had to put this goal on hold during the pandemic but kept building out and growing the nursery on the back end. In 2022 we began participating in regional plant sales such as The Spring Garden Fair, Hortlandia and seasonally at the Oregon City Farmers Market. In the summer of 2023 we also opened our nursery and gardens to the public for the first time. About 50% of our Certified Naturally Grown nursery is dedicated to Oregon native plants to support our local pollinators and wildlife. We also grow a diverse array of ornamental perennials and shrubs, focused on plants that benefit pollinators.
We are dedicated to eco-conscious practices not only in the Certified Naturally Grown Nursery but in designing clients gardens as well. Every project is not just aesthetically pleasing but also takes into account a multi-faceted approach to environmental responsibility. To allow our expertise in environmentally sound gardens to reach its full potential we have closed the landscaping division. We now work with a variety of talented landscapers and trades people for the bulk of the installation work for our designs, though we often put in the finishing touches. This change has enabled us to focus on our passion for plants and to put our unique skills to use in our Sustainable Design + Planting projects and growing Certified Naturally Grown plants for our customers.
With each year comes new plans, in addition to the name change to Green Seed Gardens, in Spring 2024 we will be launching a new farm stand. Our mini nursery will be stocked with a selection of our freshest plants throughout the spring and will open 2 days a week when we will be on-site and available to answer questions and assist with checkout.
Our goals over the next few years include continuing to expand our display gardens and opening a full retail nursery on-site. Another long term goal is the restoration of our back acre to an oak savannah planted with native plants to complement our existing mature Oregon White Oaks.
In the meantime, we hope you join us in 2024 whether it is on the farm at one of our Open Garden/Nursery events, as a design client, at Hortlandia or the Farmer’s Market. Help us make 2024 our best year yet!
