Growing with Vision
From Greenhouse Grower Magazine

by JEAN D. AYLSWORTH
Senior Staff Writer

This Georgia grower had the vision and guts to totally change his business.  
Some people have called Mike Cunningham a visionary. But despite his knack for seeing trends and jumping on them years ahead of the competition, the Newnan, GA grower is no starry-eyed mystic. He's down-to-earth, hardworking, and never satisfied with the status quo - characteristics he inherited from his father that led him into the greenhouse business in the first place.

"When I was growing up, we had a grain and livestock farm on 400 to 500 acres of land,' Cunningham says. "My dad could see even then that the future didn't look too bright for traditional agriculture production in this area and encouraged me to find a facet of ag where I could make a living. We built the first greenhouse when I was 14 years old. I found it was something I enjoyed."

After earning an associate's degree in horticulture, Cunningham worked for a large retail nursery for three years before getting involved in his own wholesale operation, Southern Perennial Growers.

"He was heavily into perennials at least five years ahead of the curve," says Paul Thomas, extension horticulture advisor at the University of Georgia. "He developed a very successful wholesale perennial business before most other growers realized how hot perennials would become." Cunningham became well-known for perennials and sold them through a broker all over the Southeast. The business thrived. Although many growers would have been content just to ride that wave, he looked into his crystal ball again and saw that the wholesale perennial market would soon become crowded and competitive. At the same time, he could see the population of metropolitan Atlanta stretching toward Newnan - a developing upscale retail market right in his own backyard.

In 1996, Cunningham decided to change almost his entire business to retail. "It was a gutsy move on his part," Thomas says. "His wholesale business was doing well. Moving into retail was a gamble, but he just seemed to know it was the right time to make that change. Once again, he was ahead of almost everyone else."

"I saw retail as a way to get better prices and increase profitability without having to add on greenhouse space and step up production," Cunningham says. "With Newnan fast becoming a bedroom community for Atlanta, the timing was right."

His intuition was right on target. Within four years, the area 25 miles south of Atlanta grew to include 80,000 people. Most were putting up new homes and the demand for quality plant material was there to be tapped.


Beyond Perennials
While Cunningham still grows a fair number of perennials, he has branched out to include a full line of bread and butter annuals as well as specialty plants from cuttings such as Proven Winners.

"We don't promote ourselves simply as perennial growers," he says. "Rather, we specialize in beautiful gardens. As retail growers, we had to start producing more varieties. I like to say our selection is one-inch deep and one-mile wide. We don't grow that many of any one thing, but we have a lot of different things to choose from."

That kind of selection plus an emphasis on service has made Cunningham's retail garden center, Country Gardens Farm & Nursery, a showplace that attracts droves of customers to Newnan from the Atlanta suburbs.

"He used a couple of very practical techniques to jump-start the retail business and bring people in," Thomas says. "'Before he ever had any advertising out about the place, he installed a demonstration garden along the road that proved to be a tremendous draw. He also held a seminar on butterfly and humniingbird gardening that packed the place. It was like lighting the fire under his new retail business. It just took off from there."

Focusing On Retail
Cunningham says that while the retail operation quickly became as successful As his wholesale operation had been, he faced some challenges along the way in making the switch. "It takes a different mindset to be a retail grower," he says. "For one thing our facility needed some major changes to make it suitable for retail. We were set up to grow large quantities of plants for wholesale markets. We had narrow aisles with dead ends in the greenhouse, a large head house, and a shipping area. We needed a facility for retail that would be easy and safe for customers to navigate. We converted our loading dock into a planted display garden with a pond and water wheel. We remodeled the barn, widened the pathways, and started paying attention to things like signage."

He says it's a continuing challenge to grow and sell from the same location. "There are just some things you can't do with people around," he says, "like use the overhead watering system or apply chemicals. You have to learn to schedule those things for times when no one is in the greenhouse. Since we continue to sell some plants to area landscapers, we decided to close off part of our growing area to the public."

Cunningham also found that the hours he would have to put into the retail business would exceed even the long hours he'd worked as a whole- sale grower. "We're open six days a week, year- round," he says. "'I enjoy people and I'm often out there waiting on customers. But dealing with the public takes time. I might spend as much time now with a customer who buys $30 worth of plants as I did before with someone who might have bought $500 or more wholesale."

Getting good help for staffing a retail operation can also be difficult. Cunningham tries to hire people who like to garden and are knowledgeable about plants.

"Finding those kinds of people for just a few months of the year isn't always easy," he says. "But offering a hefty discount on plants to our employees is an incentive for some serious gardeners."

Cunningham also considers it a blessing that his wife, children, mother, father-in-law, and brother-in-law all work in the garden center. "We all get along well and it gives us a chance to enjoy time being together," he says. "Eventually maybe one or more of our sons will want to take on a larger role in the business."

For now, the boys'4-H projects - including cows, pigs, and chickens - are part of the garden center's petting zoo, which brings families and school groups in for tours. Cunningham sees that part of the business growing as time goes on.

"We like to promote the farm atmosphere and buying plants directly from the grower," he says. "That's often very appealing for people in the suburbs."

Tuning In To Consumers
Cunningham knows that those suburban shoppers also enjoy looking at other people's gardens and learning more about plants. Each spring he sponsors a tour to several top-notch gardens. He sells tickets for the event and tour participants end up at the garden center for a catered meal. Typically, about 200 people attend.

He also works with the local Master Gardeners association and several garden clubs on educational programs and other activities.

"These people help us to stay on top of what's new," Cunningham says. "We also attend garden shows in Atlanta and visit Callaway Gardens so we'll know what plants the public will be looking for."

"Mike Cunningham uses a common-sense approach to marketing that has made him a very successful retail grower," Thomas says. "He uses that incredible vision to know what people want and he does a very good job of meeting their needs. He is the kind of grower who is personally involved in doing what it takes to satisfy his customers. He makes sure plant quality is there and stands behind what he sells. He's a very positive, enthusiastic guy.

"When he was president of the Georgia Flower Growers Association, he took the lead in several very important projects and guided the association during a time of upheaval. He filled in when the educational advisor stepped down and helped put on a very successful educational conference. He's the kind of person that every association needs. I give him credit for his leadership in the industry and for having the guts and vision to make significant changes in his own operation at just the right time."


This article originally appeared in the June 2000 issue of Greenhouse Grower magazine.
It is used here by permission of the publisher.