Deep Roots in Tough Times
Last year should have been bad news for a landscape and nursery business located in the center of the automobile industry. Gasoline hit $4 a gallon and auto sales took a huge dive, laying off thousands of workers in this community of Temperance, Michigan, near the major car-making city of Toledo, Ohio.
But unexpectedly, it turned out to be the best season in five years for Housel's Nursery.
"We expected the worst, with so many people in this area out of work," said David Housel, third generation owner of the nursery and landscape business started by his grandfather in 1940. "But this year people stayed at home and apparently spent some time planting trees and shrubs instead of taking vacations,"
Housel's success in the midst of a bad economy can only be explained by their deep roots in this blue collar community.
"We don't do landscaping on many new homes. Our customers are mostly working people, many in the auto industry, who have purchased trees and shrubs from us for years," Housel said. "They are middle-aged hobby gardeners. Many of them didn't travel much last year, and they wanted to re-do the outdoor areas of their homes where they are spending most of their time.