Bloomin’ in Big Timber
Brewer’s Greenhouse Business is Booming
Big Timber, MT
Photography contributed by Bonnie Ferguson
Throughout May and June, Tuesdays are Bonnie Ferguson’s favorite day of the week. That’s when the delivery truck brimming with plants and flowers pulls up to unload at the greenhouse she owns with her mother, Kelli Brewer, just outside of Big Timber, Montana.
Bonnie’s excitement escalates as she unloads the weekly delivery of fragrant flowerpots, sweet smelling herbs, and colorful flats of bedding plants. From grasses to petunias and chives to begonias, the plants are sorted, marked, and creatively displayed around the nursery and greenhouses. With a short, two-month season, Bonnie and Kelli, along with two other workers, use every hour of the day to help customers beautify and enhance their yards and businesses with an array of color to enjoy through the summer and into fall.
“We’re like calving season with flowers,” Bonnie laughed. “It’s a busy couple of months for us, but we love it.”
“It’s been quite an adventure. The greatest appreciation I have is working with my daughter. We complement each other perfectly for this business.”
Kelli taught school for 35 years and after retiring, sought a second job to “keep busy.” Bonnie was newly married and she and her husband, Jason, had just moved back to town when the opportunity to buy a greenhouse fell into place. Kelli had the land, and Bonnie had the time and the drive to start a business next to the home where Kelli and her husband, Larry, raised Bonnie and her sister, Megan.
The first greenhouse to launch their business was dismantled, hauled, then rebuilt on the Brewer property. The following year, another greenhouse became available and the business doubled in size. Having no formal experience in the nursery business, but a passion for flowers, backyards, and gardens, the mother-daughter duo set to work learning all they could about plants and business management.
As the business has grown over the seasons, the location just outside of Big Timber on a well-maintained county road has proven to be ideal. Visiting the greenhouses and enjoying the Brewer ladies’ hospitality feels more like visiting someone’s backyard. Bursting with life, the greenhouses invite a leisurely stroll and mature fruit trees and a raised bed vegetable garden add to the serenity. A decorative deer proof fence keeps the four-legged freeloaders from devouring and destroying their hard work while adding an element of coziness to the setting. Several outdoor chairs invite guests to take a load off and enjoy themselves for a bit before heading home to plant their haul.
“People make a day of it,” Bonnie explained. “Gardeners are like quilters; they love going around to different greenhouses to see new things.”
Entering their 13th season, the co-owners have found a niche that their hometown community supports, and their reputation has grown beyond the borders of Sweet Grass County. Customers come from not only Big Timber, but Harlowton, Livingston, Columbus and even as far away as Red Lodge and Billings. Bonnie adds to the enjoyment of the gardener’s treks by researching the latest and rarest flowers, especially petunias.
“It’s so fun to see what’s up and coming,” she smiled. “There’s always something new and interesting to add to our orders.”
The two have learned a lot since opening the doors with little prior experience 13 years ago. Both Kelli and Bonnie have found their individual gift to contribute to their shared success.
“It’s been quite an adventure,” Kelli said. “The greatest appreciation I have is working with my daughter. We complement each other perfectly for this business.”
Kelli maintains the books while Bonnie completes the ordering and planting. But what makes the pair stand out is their service to the customer.
“Our specialty really is personal pot planting,” Bonnie said. “We plant hundreds of them every year. Some customers come in with their pots, others buy the ones we’ve planted. Our customers might prefer a certain flower or specific color, but most of them trust us with our creativity.”
A small shop added on exclusively for planting sits just outside the greenhouses where Bonnies has planted dozens and dozens of pots at a time for customers. The team has done planters for not only businesses around town, but guest ranches and rustic weddings as well. By rodeo weekend, in late June, evidence of their handiwork can be seen up and down Big Timber’s main street as planters at the front doors of businesses overflow with Brewer’s Greenhouse’s creative touch. Their willingness to accommodate is limited only by miles and imagination and, of course, time and money. They welcome opportunities to educate customers on gardening questions as well, including which types of plants grow better in particular soils or locations, and how to best care for them.
“We like to say we’re helping people addicted to flowers,” Kelli laughed. “We want everyone to have success with their plants.”
By the 1st of July the women are ready for a much-deserved breather but soon enough, they begin to fill the greenhouses with fall mums to sell during the Big Timber Farmer’s Market.
For Bonnie, the greenhouse and working alongside her mother is a joyous part of her sometimes-hectic life. Between her work as a paraprofessional at the high school, owning the local quilt shop, and raising 3-year-old Sam with her husband, Jason, her days are quite full, and will soon be fuller as the couple anticipates their second child in October.
For Kelli, having a few open months each year allows her to travel to Washington D.C. where her daughter Megan lives with her husband and three boys.
And for the community, Brewer’s Greenhouse offers another opportunity to support a family with roots tied to Sweet Grass County for over 100 years.
“It’s really a perfect fit for us,” Bonnie said. “The greenhouse is my happy place, and I can’t imagine not being here.”
“Plus, everyone is happy when they’re in a greenhouse,” Kelli added. “Who wouldn’t want to be here?”