SOMERS, Conn. — Mother's Day is almost here and for one greenhouse in Somers, business is blooming.
As many shoppers will head out to gift flowers for mom, it's important to know those flowers are grown right here in Connecticut.
There's a lot of work behind the scenes at Grower Direct Farms in Somers to get those flowers from a seed to the store.
"I fell in love with it," said lead grower, Bob Jones.
In the midst of all the beauty, there's no time to stop and smell the roses.
"It’s like a small city over here, a lot of traffic you have to keep your head on a swivel because there’s a lot of moving parts," said Jones.
The spring is the busiest time of year for the 45-acre greenhouse. Between spring plants and Mother's Day, almost the entire year of sales happens in a six to eight-week period.
"Everyone’s trying to beautify their homes or in their lawn so people are planting," said Jones. "We’ve grown so much more than we’ve ever grown before just to keep up with demand."
Jones is one of many growers who spends his days making sure millions of flowers are growing properly so they can be shipped out to stores and end up in homes across the state. For him, gardening has become a retirement hobby.
"I retired from the State of Connecticut, a 20-year degree in law enforcement, it was a 360-degree spin from what I was doing before," said Jones.
The greenhouse industry is growing by hundreds of new workers and also adding more than $180 million to Connecticut’s economy each year. That’s more than 50% of the state’s agriculture industry.
The agriculture census says Connecticut has seen a 90% increase in income from thriving agriculture.
While the industry is soaring to new heights, the process from seed to store remains slow and steady, usually a year in the making.
"They’re grown in Connecticut and there’s a lot of dedication and commitment that comes with growing these flowers here and our team is always hands on deck working really hard," said Haley Doyle, a Human Resources manager at the greenhouse.
Flowers grown at the greenhouse are packed up and shipped out to hundreds of stores across the Northeast, including the big retailers.
"Every time you walk around the greenhouse there’s just different plants and different flowers because everything‘s constantly going out to our stores," said Doyle.
The greenhouse is already starting to plan and prepare for next spring.
"I think agriculture, especially horticulture, has grown by leaps and bounds," said Jones.
As shoppers prepare for Mother's Day, it's important to stop and smell the roses to think of the people here in our state who put in the hard work and long hours to bring those locally grown flowers to the shelves.
"If you go to any of the major retailers, any of the garden centers, chances are those plants were grown right here in Connecticut," said Jones.
The industry is expected to always be in bloom.
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Lindsey Kane is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at Lkane@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
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