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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
For 45 years, spring planting has been a tradition in the Lambert family. It's also been a business and a successful one at thatÑone that attracts not just people living near Lambert Floral Spring Garden Plants on 39th South and Redwood Road, but people from across Utah and other states as well.
Paul and Barbara Lambert started the business after Paul gained an interest in planting while serving in World War II. He returned from service and built a greenhouse in the family's backyard. At the time, they lived on more than an acre of property in Granger, where Paul liked growing tomatoes, petunias and marigolds. Joan Lambert Willden and her sister Marianne Lambert Walsh have worked in the nursery since they were young. All nine of the children learned about work in this family business.
Well, the quality of the plants spread by word of mouth and buying from the Lamberts quickly became a tradition.
Today, Lambert Floral features seven greenhouses and more than 450 varieties of plants. Joan and her sister Marianne now run the business with help from their children and seasonal employees. Even their parentsÑPaul and BarbaraÑstill help with the plants. Joan said her mother particularly enjoys the geraniums, and Paul loves any task that requires him to drive the tractor.
Joan told me they begin planting seeds in late January or early February. And they mix their own soil. By April of every year, Lambert Floral is ready to sell the plants. Joan told me the nursery now offers perennials, annuals and 27 different kinds of tomatoes, 25 kinds of peppers, along with many melons, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, onions and more.
By the end of June, the plants at Lambert Floral will have all been sold and the work that began only six months earlier will nearly be done. Joan said she and her sister Mari will then prepare for the next year by ordering seeds and the ingredients they use in the soil as well as doing maintenance and other necessary tasks. It's a great business, Joan says, and it allows her time to spend with family in the summer and fall.
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business
