Tuesday, September 17, 2024
By WILLIAM KOPP
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
HOWARD – Wery Farms started in 1966 with co-founders (and spouses) Charles and Beverly Wery as a combination of greenhouses and dirt farms selling both vegetables and flowers.
It continued that way until the eventual passing of Charles in 2007 and Beverly in 2016, when it was taken over by two of their seven children, Linda (Wery) Lambert and Renee Wery, the youngest of the family.
“I worked for my parents for 45 years and in that timeframe I learned all about the annuals business and growing food crops, and we did a lot,” Lambert said. “I was the administrative manager for the business and when my father got sick I ran the business for the few years before he passed.”
Lambert ran a business called Sweet Summer Bloomers, putting up three to four greenhouses around the city and having bought of her annuals from her father while still working for the family business at the time.
“I got to know all of the area but really my heart is with perennials; trees, shrubs, roses and stuff like that,” she said. “So when both of my parents were gone I thought ‘oh well this is stupid,’ I’ve got all of this knowledge so I might as well keep going.”
And that’s what she did.
Lambert purchased her parents’ business and pruned it to what she liked.
“My dad used to put up like 40-50 greenhouses around the tri-state area and we’d fill them from our five acres here, and when they passed away it just got to be too much so there’s no more vegetable crops. We only erect 10 greenhouses now and fill them with our stuff.
“My mother always wanted a gift shop and Pa would never let her do it. And in the back I cut greenhouses in half to make room for perennials, trees and shrubs, and I carry lots of them now — like 300 kinds of perennials.”
The property is filled with greenhouses and the gift shop loaded with plenty of Christmas decorations this time of year, but the main attraction of going to the business is the pink house.
The house used to be located right next to the armory on Military Avenue, but it had to be moved and so it was picked up and now it lies right on the property at 1748 Lenwood Avenue for customers to admire.
“Our family, my mom and dad’s kids, all of us girls loved pink and it was mom’s idea to paint the greenhouses pink,” Lambert remarked. “All of us voted on it and we wanted it to be pink so now it’s pink and that’s the way it’s gonna stay.”
Sometimes it’s hard going into a family business and the issues that come with taking over after parents are gone, but Lambert expressed fulfillment.
“I love it, I totally love it,” she said. “I just love the flowers, I really do.”
With so many kinds of flowers, it can be hard to establish a favorite — it’s like picking a favorite child.
“That — it’s impossible, that’s just fricking impossible,” Lambert said. “I like perennials so much, hibiscus, hydrangea, we’ve got 25 kinds.
“There’s some for the shade, some for the sun, some tall, some short — there’s enough variety for everyone. I’m kind of the hydrangea queen around here.”
A lot of people that start gardening either have success and continue on doing it or they lose plants or something makes them angry and they quit.
Many blame it on not having a green thumb, but most of the time it just takes a little bit of advice from someone that knows what they’re doing to get someone started.
“People come in with a lot of questions which I’m totally willing to answer even though they’re buying them from somebody else,” Lambert stated. “Gotta keep the customers happy — they came here to ask me so I will answer their questions.”
Wery created their current website and established a history of the family on the homepage with a thank you to their parents for passing on the love of life to all of the kids.
“We just love to help people and make them happy,” Lambert added. “When I think back on my whole life it’s just that way. I’ve always been in the business and I’ve always tried to make people happy.”
The business is still run by Lambert and Wery, and customers can stop by most days between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. for all of their gardening and perennial needs.
“Come and see us, we’ve always got new stuff, different,” Lambert said.
You can find Wery’s Sweet Summer Bloomers at 1748 Lenwood Ave. in Duck Creek (Howard) or visit www.weryssweetsummerbloomers.com/home.
