5 Minutes with … Peter Gasper
Peter Gasper is the founder of Blooms Garden Center, a 4-acre destination garden center in Marion, Iowa, and a L&GR Innovator Award honoree.
How did you get involved in garden retail?
My love for flowers and plants began with my grandmother. She maintained a full garden, and I had the opportunity to work alongside her from a young age. She was close friends with several garden center and flower shop owners, and I loved listening to their conversations about plants, flowers and growing. One memory that stands out is visiting one of those flower shops on Saturdays to pick up a gallon of “blue water,” which was fertilizer water she used on her poppies. I helped her care for her flower garden, which sparked an early appreciation for flowers and plant material.
Growing up with a grandparent born at the turn of the 20th century also shaped me. She lived through World War I, the Depression and rationing, so because of that, gardening wasn’t just a hobby, it was essential. She relied heavily on a large vegetable garden, and I spent my springs and summers helping plant, harvest and store food in the basement for the year ahead. As I got older, I realized what a special career this is. What better life is there than designing something beautiful for people who may not know much about plants but know they love a certain color or look?
What do you love about your job?
I love working with plant material and I love growing plants that eventually become part of a residential or commercial landscape. I especially enjoy designing with each person’s needs in mind, whether that’s color preferences, plant size, shape, maintenance level or sunlight conditions. If they have walls or patios, I get to figure out how they can be coupled with the plant material. Some people want bold color, others want something low maintenance. It’s like solving a puzzle — figuring out what will work best for that person and their space.
What’s the most interesting experience you’ve had with a customer?
One experience that stands out involved a family with a little girl who was probably about 4 years old. She was so excited to be at the garden center and would have taken home one flower of every color if she could! Her parents, though, were here to buy vegetables. They weren’t shopping for flowers that day, and they explained flowers just weren’t in the budget. While her parents looked at the veggies, I spent some time showing the little girl the flowers. When it was time to check out, she looked heartbroken that she wasn’t taking any flowers home. So I picked out one of our annuals, handed it to her and said, “Why don’t you take this home?” I told her to take care of it and watch it grow. Her eyes lit up instantly. She was absolutely thrilled. Later, her family came back with a photo showing how much the plant had grown. She had cared for it beautifully. Watching a young gardener experience that first connection with a plant, nurturing it and seeing it thrive was really special. Whether it’s someone who has gardened for 60 years and can barely move around their garden anymore, or a child planting for the very first time, I’m grateful to be part of that experience. Every single person who walks through our doors is interesting and cared about.
What’s something that few people know about you?
Not many people know this, but growing up I was heavily involved in drama, show choir, music and theater. I also played all of the brass instruments, and those experiences gave me a deep appreciation for music of all kinds. I feel especially fortunate to have grown up in the late 1960s and 1970s — such an incredible era for music. I still have a large vinyl collection and continue to enjoy listening to it.
Favorite plant to grow?
The mini varieties of sunflowers are just so much fun. They remind me of sunshine itself. They have these big, cheerful faces that seem to smile a mile wide. They’re bright, vibrant, long-lasting and with so many varieties available now, the color range is incredibly fun and uplifting.
Now, my favorite flower and favorite plant are two different things. When it comes to shrubs, hydrangeas are my favorite. When I first started in this industry, there were only four or five common hydrangea varieties. Watching the explosion of new varieties in different sizes, colors and bloom habits has been amazing. Seeing the series develop over the years has been especially exciting.
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