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Johannsens.......
Many of you have been Johannsen’s customers for decades, but those of you who are new
to the greenhouse may not realize that Johannsen’s has been in business in the same
location since 1960. Founded by Chuck Johannsen, the greenhouse was the first
business in what is today a bustling part of the West Beltline. In 1960, the Beltline was
an undivided, four-lane road. Just ten years later, however, the city built the overpass
that stands near the greenhouse today, and the business lost its front parking lot. The
old farmhouse behind our greenhouses is the only trace of the pastoral life that once
existed so close to Madison’s downtown.Chuck
Johannsen passed away in 1993 at the age of 84, but the business is still very much family
owned and operated. Gary, Lyn, and Karen—the Johannsen "children"—run
the greenhouse, along with their mother Joy. In addition to the immediate family, the
business depends on a "family" of employees. Twelve full-time people help run
the garden center. In addition, many seasonal employees, a number of whom return
year after year, join the staff during our spring "rush" and at Christmas. |
Our Proudest Rose
In 1965 Joy Johannsen watched the last of her three children
start school and knew she would need a job to fill her new-found free hours. Having traded
her own childhood on a Nebraska farm for adult life on Madison’s east side, Joy had
developed a growing interest in roses in the few spare moments she had as she raised her
family. But while her yard was the envy of her neighbors, somehow it was not enough. Thus
, in the spring of 1965, Joy found herself applying for a job at Johannsen’s
Greenhouses, and, not surprisingly, she was put in charge of selling roses. Working
part-time for several years until her children were older, Joy later began to work on a
full-time basis. Although she broke new ground by being the first woman to work full-time
at the garden center, she never imagined she would one day own the business.
While Joy knew roses, she readily admits that other gardening knowledge came the hard way.
The first time a customer asked her if she had pachysandra, for example, Joy uttered
"no" in shocked surprise, convinced she’d been asked whether she had a
fatal disease. Today, Joy has a wide range of general plant knowledge, daily fielding
questions on everything from why tomatoes aren’t ripening on schedule to tropical
plant diseases. Although officially retired, Joy is in the garden center seven days a
week, waiting on customers, doing the books, and showering her employees with edible
treats.During the hectic spring season, when it is
not uncommon for employees to work seventy hours a week, Joy’s sense of humor goes
the mile to bolster morale. Asked what keeps her own spirits up, Joy responds,
"having been able to spend my adult working life with my children" (all three
have joined the business). She truly enjoys the daily interaction with the customers and
employees. "Spring" at Johannsen’s usually begins in late January, as
employees start the first geraniums and orders are placed for endless numbers of potting
supplies and general merchandise. While some may dread the frenetic pace of the season to
come, Joy relishes the bustle and activity.
If the truth be known, Joy loves the garden center all year long,
whether the greenhouse is full of geraniums, poinsettias, or chrysanthemums.
"It’s an exciting business because of the change of seasons," she comments,
"there’s always something to look forward to." Nothing summarizes
Joy’s feelings about her job better than her own observation that "working in a
greenhouse is a way of life. I’ll be coming in as long as I can walk." |
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