Four Season Nursery

08/14/2026

Choosing the right thing to say when confronted with negative energy

What is it with people that just have to tell you, “I can buy it cheaper somewhere else”. How does the staff respond to this. It’s easy to say something offensive but we don’t respond that way. They may have spoken inappropriately but why multiply the negative with another negative.
These comments carry an energy at the nursery that is absorbed by the staff and the plants. We don’t need it. It implies we are gouging and that is something this nursery will never do.
We had this situation happen recently and although not a conmen occurrence it’s not a one off, hence a need to write this journal entry.
Are our prices the lowest locally? No. They are also not the highest. However, seems the complaining come from those with better means than myself or anyone else on the staff. And yes, this causes some angst. A case of the caller asking and responding in a negative way. I’ll paraphrase the phone conversation: Can’t find plants in our hometown nursery; Coming to our cottage up north; Do you have the plant?; How much does it cost?; My goodness, I can buy down here for $2.00 less per plant; Can you match prices from where I live? The answer was no. After the dig they ask us to hold the plants awaiting their arrival to the north country. So, we held the plants for a week and that complaining customer never showed to pick up, so we put the plants back in the retail nursery and now they have all been purchased by others for full price.
Please, if you are a regular at the nursery and there are many of you, this isn’t a criticism of you. It’s more beholden to those that want to pay the same price for a plant as they do from their hometown, usually a much larger town to our south. Maybe they are coming to their second home and think plants will be less expensive up north only to find that the same plant is more expensive and how could that be; a small town in Northen Michigan surely must have plants that cost less than our metro-area.
I woke up much too early this morning with a song in my head (every morning a different song). The song, “I’m on the top of the world”, made me think that we local nurseries are at the top of the shipping world regarding plant shipments. Most of our local nurseries purchase from southern Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and as far west as Oregon; that’s where the big wholesale nurseries are. We purchase in less quantities than the bigger retail nurseries to the southern metro areas and shipping and handling for us is much more expensive because we’re at the top of the wholesale nursery world. Traverse City is the largest metro-area north of Grand Rapids and for trucks it’s their last stop before heading home down south. Yes, some trucks venture to Petoskey or Harbor Springs but no many.
Our mark-up is the same for every plant. Jeri does an excellent job finding plants. Her criteria is first quality, then cost, then hitting the wholesale nurseries minimum order amount. It’s a tough job. The mark-up has to cover all the expenses that accrue keeping the doors open and keeping plants happy.
We live in a vacation world, many with second homes. I have made a living landscaping for many clients over the decades and I think of them as friends. Many continue shopping at the nursery. They see the hard work that goes into running a nursery and the importance of having a staff that love plants and truly want to help them with purchasing the right plant. Lately, while going to and fro in the nursery I’ll stop and do a 360-degree turn hoping I don’t fall over! What I see is a place filled with plants of all shapes and sizes. I see the block of panicled Hydrangea turning from white to dark pink, I see some early autumn color in some shade trees and shrubs transitioning to the sleepy winter season. Mostly I see many plants that appreciate the love and care we show them. This comes at a cost and these plants deserve every bit of it.
For those with negative energy, well, keep it to yourself unless constructive. We are dealing with a living plant that needs care. Are we perfect? Absolutely not. If you have an issue with a plant we sold you we’ll listen and help in any way possible. If you’re going to complain about our pricing, we just can’t help with that.
For all of you that find our nursery a calming and friendly place to come we all thank you. I could not have chosen a better profession to meet fellow gardeners. You and the plants fill my heart and soul.

08/11/2026

Pallets are great for making compost bins, fencing and miscellaneous wood projects. We have them and they can be yours for FREE!

08/09/2026

Date: July 22, 2026
Symphony of the Outdoor World
I apologize for the delay getting this one out. I had some digital challenges with the Facebook account, not my strongpoint, and I am reluctant to ask my younger family members to help me because I have ask too many times in the past and I'm thinking that they think me an idiot. I know I'm not but this stuff makes me feel that way.


This title came to me in my flurry to write my thoughts this morning not realizing an eerily similarity to Dvoraks 8th. symphony, Symphony for a New World, one of my favorites; it’s called his 5th but it was actually his 8th. and written while he was living in the US.
Renee and I shut windows last night due to the chilly evening temperatures. Normally during the summer months windows are always opened a crack at the minimum. So this July morning inside the house was very quiet and unconnected to the out of doors. This bothered me; where is the outdoor symphony that has greeted me each morning? There are connections all through one’s life that just can’t be explained, for me it‘s the connection to the outside world.
I was drawn to the porch with a cup of coffee and a blanket. Yes, it was chilly for July but the world opened once I was outside. The wind was softly tickling the leaves of trees, there was the road noise of the parkway along the bay, the hum of neighborhood A.C units, our resident loon did a ‘fly over’ singing its mournful yet beautiful song. The song birds were still sleeping, including the Cardinal with its signature song.
I am drawn to the sounds of the outside world, any world outside of the closed environment of a house. When inside you can so easily lose focus on the bigger world that surrounds us. The outdoor life is happening whether you live in a city, as I do, or in a rural setting. It’s finding the symphony of sounds and appreciating it no matter where you might be.
I work outside most every day from April thru November, playing with plants, talking with gardeners, helping them make decisions about what to plant. And, listening to the outside world. So full of sound it becomes music, this outdoor symphony is there for me or anyone else at the nursery to absorb. Every day and every season bring a different symphony.
Whether in the garden, hiking through the woods or walking the streets of your neighborhood, take in the sounds and for that matter all the other senses. They will be imprinted on your mind, becoming part of the mental library of my life. You don’t need an earbud or phone plugged into your ears, that’s just a distraction from reality that surrounds us every day.
Enjoy natures Symphony.

07/24/2026

Wow! If you need to fill in a space in your garden, we have the plants for you! Many plants in bud and bloom ready to make you smile when they are added to the garden. Stop in today and we can help you choose the perfect plant for your location.

07/23/2026

Mark your calendar for this fantastic event held at The Botanic Garden at Historic Barns Park in Traverse City!

07/20/2026

Noisy voice in the choir
Being an early riser, I get to hear the birds wake up. This time of year the voice that sings loudest is the Cardinal and its persistence makes me think it’s vocal cords must get sore, evidently not! There are other birds singing but none as loud as the Cardinal.
I’ve been involved in choral music since a very young age and as a choral ensemble the perfect sound is having all the voices blend. When one sticks out then it isn’t choral music the way it was written. I sang tenor and we had a voice in our section years ago that just had to be heard. Listening to the Cardinal in the bird choral group this morning made we think of the voice in our choir that just had to be heard.
While the ‘Cardinal’ was still in the choir we had a guest conductor at one of our concerts, one I knew quite well. His son and I sang together until they moved to Southern Michigan, He became head of a prestigious college music program and then to London to conduct. Although he and his wife retired to Traverse City he never quit conducting. At a break during the dress rehearsal for our concert I was sitting alone and he came to sit with me. He ask if the ‘Cardinal’ in the tenor section was bothering me and I told him yes. I really follow vocal dynamics the composer uses to frame their music…it’s what makes the notes on the page music. He shared with me an experience he had as the conductor at Interlochen Arts Academy with a tenor that was the ‘Cardinal’. This certain person became a well-respected soloist, just not a good chorister.
I’ve never forgotten that talk or the man that sat with me. I was fortunate to be able to sing at his eulogy conducted by his son, the very son I had grown up with in music before they left Traverse. I and most of the choir were in tears at the end of the singing. They were tears of the loss and tears for the beauty choral music brings to the soul.
There is another joy that I experienced Saturday at the nursery. For me it was a symphony of color. We received a truck load of plants Friday afternoon that Earl and I helped unload. Jeri, Tom, Renee and I got them into the nursery Saturday morning, (I had given the crew Saturday off on account of air quality, but Jeri and Tom offered to help get plants into the nursery). I stood back Saturday afternoon to get a sense of where the nursery was that day. I wasn’t brought to tears but brought to joy!
Here we are in the last week of July and the nursery is flush with color, our perennial selection is very nice and for the most part our trees and shrubs look good. The duds go to the ‘second chance lot’ and it’s open every day we are open. You don’t have to wait until autumn for a sale.
I love music, plants, my co-workers and the Cardinal. All make my small place in this world a better place and the Cardinal will continue to sing loudly.

07/05/2026

New on the Nursery Journal: Friendship brought on by connections,

First drafted in late May 2026…yeh, I’m late to publish but the ideas for the entry haven’t changed. We have been very busy this spring and early summer as have all other nurseries and yesterday was no exception; not hot but warm and sunny, just a beautiful day. What pleased me most about yest...

07/02/2026

HOURS FOR THIS WEEKEND!
FRIDAY 9-2
CLOSED SATURDAY & SUNDAY

07/01/2026

Our hours for the rest of the week are....
Wed & Thurs 9-5
Friday 9-2
Closed Saturday and Sunday for the holiday.