All Season Plants in Ridgefield works hard year-round to provide wholesale plants to the residents of Clark County.
Owner Rue Lindgren originally started the nursery online before she moved into the property at 21000 NW 39th Ave.
“It started out as gifts, decor and plants, and we built a database that allowed us to see what inventory was out there in Willamette Valley,” said Lindgren. “It allowed us to be pretty competitive and organized on other projects. We realized the garden center stuff was very much a different job, a whole different business.”
Lindgren transitioned her business from online to a warehouse, but that environment proved to be difficult for the plants. Shipping was also a hassle, she said, since there was a lot of waste that accumulated from trying to transport plants, so Lindgren looked for a different location.
Lindgren opened All Season Plants at its current location in 2015. The property originally belonged to Phil and Linda Luke, who own the South Ridge Growers Nursery.
Prior to starting the nursery, Lindgren worked in real estate with her father. She took on a project and found out she “enjoyed the plant portion of it.”
Her parents originally started the nursery together, but when her dad died, Lindgren bought half of the business, while her mother gave her the other half.
“I love (the nursery),” she said. “It’s my favorite thing to do.”
Her cousin-in-law, Andrew Sharp, also works at the nursery. Sharp studied crop science in college and is known for his expertise in horticulture. Before the nursery, he worked in golf course management.
“Plants are more interesting than grass,” Sharp said with a laugh.
All Season Plants offers a variety of items like shrubs, perennials and trees. Lindgren said the native plants are the most popular. Those include vaccinium, huckleberry, heuchera, fine maple, and deer fern, which all have a section of their own at the nursery.
In February 2021, a large snowstorm hit the county and impacted All Season.
“We’re in the process of a remodel,” Lindgren said. “Last year, we got hit by the winter storm that dumped about two feet out here. It collapsed about 37 of our greenhouses, so we’ve been in rebuild mode all year. We have five more houses left (to build).”
To avoid future incidents, Lindgren chose a taller design for the new greenhouses, which are meant to withstand heavier loads of snow. They were originally 20 feet tall, but are now 30 feet. The property features 2 acres with an area that goes downhill, so Lindgren decided to use the upper section to showcase their plants, while the lower section serves as a production area for growing.
All Season plans to open the upstairs portion of the building so it can be used for retail, since there’s been a higher demand because of an uptick of new homes in Ridgefield.
Lindgren said All Season stands out from the competition because of their friendly service.
“We (also) have a big variety of plants because it’s such a huge area,” she said. “I think people like to walk through the production area too. It’s fun to see.”
Since the nursery mainly sells wholesale items, she said they have competitive pricing as well.
All Season Plants is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The business is closed on weekends.
