A love of plants is, of course, at the heart of what makes a nurseryman a nurseryman, but all too often, this passion can get in the way of business acumen and therefore a successful business venture.  In Boskoop, The Netherlands, long considered to be the horticultural capital of Europe, a number of smaller nurseries have managed to turn their passion for plants into small but successful nursery companies serving equally small but important niche markets.

One such company is owned and operated by nurseryman Mark — with the assistance of his parents, the original founders of the company — and a small but expert staff which also includes his brother.   By North American standards, the two hectare (five acre) nursery is very small, but it is typical of the hundreds of nurseries that are located in this ‘nursery town.’   Although most of the nurseries located in Boskoop tend to specialize in one or two crops, Mark’s nursery produces an incredible array of plants — more than 3,000 different items at last count.

“Our clients,” explains Mark, “are real plants-people.  They know exactly what they want, and generally what they want can’t be found at a typical garden center or nursery.  These plants are special to them, perhaps as part of a collection or because they know the plant is rare.  Usually the varieties these customers are looking for are not in vogue and often they may not even be particularly visually attractive to the average person.  For them, it’s the thrill of having something that’s rare, that no one else has in their gardens.”