Lill LinderGarden centers are known for their longevity, and Linder’s in St. Paul, Minn., takes the cake. A cake with 100 candles, to be precise. The operation was founded in 1910 by Albert Linder—who grew celery and other vegetables to take to market. As the years passed, veggies were phased out, and flowers became the core of the business. Today, members of the original Linder’s family—including Lill Linder—continue to operate the garden center.
Lill said they commemorated the store’s centennial with a series of “super sales” after Memorial Day to thank customers for their loyalty.
“In August we had a big party,” she said. “It was kind of geared toward everybody—all our relatives, staff, customers. We had a band, and we celebrated our Swiss heritage—with musicians blowing on Alpine horns. We also had a lot of kid stuff, like a scavenger hunt through the greenhouses.”
GARDEN CENTER: How have customers responded to your centennial celebrations?
LILL LINDER: They have been very supportive and positive. One thing we did to commemorate the anniversary is give away celery plants. And of course people were asking, “Why celery?” Then they read the card that came with the plant and discover we started as a celery farm. Most people can’t believe it!
GC: How has garden retailing changed during the time you’ve been in business?
LL: We’ve come a long way from the celery farm. And the reason why we’re here is our ability to change. We got out of the celery business when blight became a problem and refrigerated freight cars became the norm. Produce no longer had to be locally produced. So, what do we do next? Well, we have a greenhouse; so we started growing cut flowers. From there Linder’s evolved into a retail florist for a few years. Then we started growing bedding plants—and the garden center was born.
Since I’ve been here business has changed considerably. In 1989 we started our Flower Marts—miniature, temporary garden centers we operate during the peak season. We have 40 of those now. In 2001, we started a landscaping division, which helps us retain staff and better serve our customers. That’s what we do—we take what we’ve got—our strengths—and find another way to market them. We’ve done that year after year.
GC: Does being a grower-retailer give you better perspective on what customers want?
LL: I think so. We grow all our own bedding plants. We sit down and analyze everything we grow; everything we have in our combo planters. What sold well? What did we have left over? We spend a lot of time looking at trends that are coming up. I think that makes a difference.
Another thing: We continue to grow our plants in a 9-plant pack. We’ve always kept them in solid packs—not even cells. As growers, we think you get a better plant that way.
GC: What does the next 100 years hold for Linder’s?
LL: Right now we’re in our third generation of ownership. One of our biggest challenges going forward is family transition. We all have kids, but are they going to be interested in the business? If they come on board, that will bring us into fourth generation ownership. Quite a milestone!