Lehi nursery gears up for Spring

With Spring in full bloom, Olson's Nursery & Gift at Lelegren Ranch in Lehi is gearing up to meet demand from growing numbers of people working in their yards. 
While the recession has hurt many local businesses, Brad Olson, a third-generation owner of Olson's Nursery, which opened in Payson in 1965, says his nursery and landscape design company is weathering the economic storm as more people opt to stay home and tend their yards as opposed to spending money on summer vacations. 


"Our business in Payson is up for the last two years because people stay home more and spend more time in their yards," he said. "Although we open year-round, things were slow for a while. It took a long time for spring to arrive this year, but people now want to dress up their yards for the summer." 

But the Lehi store, which opened at 1133 W. 3200 North in Lehi just two years ago, is trying to boost its visibility and business by adding custom floral design and delivery services for special occasions including weddings, funerals, dances, gifts for Valentine's and other holidays. The store also offers vegetable and floral garden supplies, sprinklers and landscaping design services. 

"Our business tends to pick up from April 15 through June 15 when people start planting their flower and vegetable gardens, and again in fall. But we get pretty lean in winter, which is why we're trying to get the floral line going," Olson said. 

Olson's has 40 full- and part-time workers during its peak season, and about half of that employee base during its off-peak period. 

Founded in 1942 as Olson's Nursery in Santaquin, the company, which began as a hothouse tomato business, diversified in 1977 into growing bedding plants and Poinsettias. By 1980, the plants were sold to large garden centers and home center chains as well as independent buyers in southern Utah. 

In 1987, the company split into Olson's Greenhouse Garden -- a wholesale division that sells nursery stock and garden supplies to large garden center chains like Kmart in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado -- and Olson's Garden Shoppe, which sells primarily to the general public. 

Olson's Greenhouse, which comprises 15 to 20 acres of nursery greenhouses in Santaquin and Salem, is run by Brad's brother, Bart and their father, Jack. Olson's Garden Shoppe, which now comprises 50,000 square feet of greenhouse space in Payson, is run by Brad Olson and his wife, Chris. 

Olson's business outgrew its original location at 110 S. Main Street in Payson, and in 1991, moved to its current location at 1190 W. 400 North, adding services such as landscaping, sprinkler design and installation. In 2005, Olson began negotiations with Earl Lelegren, owner of Lelegren Ranches, to lease a four-acre property for his second nursery and greenhouse operation. 

"Lelegren wanted a greenhouse nursery in his ranch because he thought it would be nice to have that element with all the population growth that's happening in Lehi," Olson said.