Happy customers help nursery thrive and grow

Down a gravel drive, the view opens on a large greenhouse complex, overlooking a pond and rolling farmland on a little slice of heaven, also known as The Flower Pot, in Belton. Just off Kentucky Highway 2270, the nursery is celebrating their tenth year in business. There are no signs pointing the way, and the business has grown over the years by word-of-mouth.

On a cool spring day, the warmth and humidity in the greenhouse is welcome. The aisles are filled with ferns and petunias, and rows upon rows of plants. Everything is in place, as owner and operator Angel Smith prepares to open for the season. Her opening day was Saturday.

What started as a hobby, collecting daylilies has become a career for Smith. The spot where her brand new greenhouse sits was once a field of daylilies, and Smith sold those by the clump.

“If you had told me 20 years ago that I would be doing this, I would have told you no way. But now, I couldn’t think of anything better to be doing,” Smith said.

This year, as Smith begins her tenth season, it’s also her first year managing a huge, 8,000 sq. ft. greenhouse they installed this past winter. They had the structure up and running just one day before her first shipment of tiny seedlings, called plugs, arrived.

Angel Smith shows off one of her creations.

“We literally got the heat on on January 14, and the plugs arrived around 9:30 the next morning.”

There are no signs pointing the way to the greenhouse. Instead, she relies on her customers, who return every year to get their plants. She specializes in unique mixtures and groupings that fill planters and pots around the greenhouse.

Smith finds the most satisfaction in the job from how her customers respond. “As long as my customers are happy, I know I’ve done a good job,” Smith said.

The business is a place where the family gathers, and the neighborhood kids are encouraged to help. Smith said her friends call when they need a little “dirt time”. They ask if she needs any help, and they come out to the nursery to get some dirt therapy, digging in the potting soil.

Smith’s nieces help out at the nursery, and the kids from the neighborhood too. She gives them little jobs, and they learn to help with cuttings. “They like to see them grow, and it gives me time with them. That’s the most enjoyable thing, to be honest,” Smith said.

There are seedlings ready for planting, and 2,000 baskets ready to adorn porches and patios. When it comes to designing mixed pots and baskets, that’s when Smith said she’s “doing her thing”. She likes to mix plants in interesting combinations, and create unique planters with varying growth habits, with some tall plants and others that will spill over the edge.

“We want that show-stopper, that’s what I want my customers to have,” Smith said.

As the season opens, Smith is in the greenhouse, taking care of the plants for long hours every day. They need her attention, and her efforts show in the beautiful, thriving growth that fills every aisle.

In June, Smith will have a short break before she begins planing the mums that will fill porches in the fall. Last year, she planted more than 1,200 mums. As the pandemic dragged on, she decided to give her customers a lift and thank them for sticking with her. She offered the mums for $6 each, and sold all 1,200 in just 15 hours. “It was nuts,” she said.