5 Minutes With … Erik Friedli
Erik Friedli is a buyer at Flamingo Road Nursery, partner at Garden Center Consultants with David Williams and frequent industry trade show speaker.
What brought you into the green industry?
I learned gardening from my mother. When I was 5 years old, I took a shovel out into the yard and started digging. A neighbor, Mrs. McGurk, came outside, saw me digging and ran back into her house. I thought for sure she was calling my mom and I was going to get in trouble. But she came back with pea seeds. “You plant these on St. Patrick’s Day,” she said. My mom came out and took the grass I was digging up and said, “We’ll start the compost pile over there.” From there, my job was pulling weeds in the rows until I could identify all the flowers and vegetables we grew. Then I graduated to working in the garden. Mom grew up on a farm in Switzerland, so I learned so much from her. Fast forward to college, studying biochemistry. I started getting job offers in laboratories with NO WINDOWS. What was I thinking? I would be miserable. Thinking fast, I knew I always had a great experience plant shopping and was always stopped by fellow shoppers with questions. I applied for a job at a garden center on Long Island. That was 35 years ago.
What’s the most rewarding part about your job?
I love turning people onto gardening, especially the ones that claim to have a “brown thumb.” To have them come back six months later yelling, “I didn’t kill it!” is such a high. And then to see them a year later asking for a plant by its botanical name? Heck, yeah!
What has surprised you about running a garden retail business?
I’m not really surprised but amazed at how much I continue to learn each season — from new plants to garden trends to different ways to present merchandise, the industry continues to change and evolve. I am so fortunate to be a part of it and to have partnered with David Williams to form Garden Center Consultants and share our knowledge with other retailers. Helping other garden centers thrive and share our experiences at industry trade shows and conferences is incredible.
What’s something few people know about you?
I am an avid birdwatcher. Living by the Florida Everglades, I spend lots of time walking outside there and just enjoying nature.
Favorite plant to grow?
Depends on what day of the week you ask me this! Today, I would say red firespike (Odontonema cuspidatum). My husband and I converted our yard into a Florida native and butterfly habitat a few years back, and this flowering shrub is a star performer in it — it attracts hummingbirds that are here from October to March. It’s also a phenomenal nectar source for butterflies. It thrives in sun to shade and blooms most of the year.
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