Inspiring Stories from Kalamazoo

Plants add happiness to our lives with color, form, purpose and flair. Here's how Nancy Friel started gardening and what she enjoys the most.

Nancy Friel has been with Wenke Greenhouses for 15 years. She began working with the wholesale division transplanting plants and starting seeds. Her interest in working with customers and expanding her knowledge of gardening brought her to the retail store.

"I enjoy gardening and sharing stories with customers. Gardening creates a sense of community, gardeners always have ideas, success stories, funny incidents or plant problems to share" states Friel. "As a cashier for 13 years at the retail store, I recognize customers and they remember me. We talk about what new plants we've tried, how a plant flourished or how we had to combat the weather."

It is this engagement in community that really got Nancy started in gardening. Her parents weren't gardeners, they grew a couple of tomato plants in the backyard but didn't do much more than that. As she started working with customers the more plants Nancy wanted to grow and experiment with in order to be a better resource for customers.

"My favorite plants are flowering shrubs such as hydrangeas. I also like delphiniums, phlox,coreopsis and lavender," Friel says. "I also try various annuals and perennials to attract humming birds. I enjoy seeing these small birds zoom around my gardens, it makes me feel good, as though I've provided a pit stop for them."

Nancy and her husband Don reside in Hickory Corners.