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	About Us: A brief history

Marshal May

In 1961 Marshal and Emma May and two of their daughters moved into the house at 6398 South Old Highway 37. Marshal was in the heating and air conditioning business and wanted a change. Marshal and Emma May’s lifelong interest in gardening led them to try the greenhouse business. A small greenhouse was built on the property, attached to an old barn, which served as a potting shed.

First plant sales were in the side yard of the family home. In 1964, they decided to go for it and open a shop the following spring. Martha the youngest daughter was in college but worked evenings and weekends. Helen, the second daughter, left her job at a garden center to work in the greenhouse. A small shadehouse to sell from and a small parking lot were prepared and the shop opened in early April of 1965. Business was encouraging from the start and soon there were several greenhouses and a roofed all-weather shed to protect the cash register from sun and rain.

Martha and Helen May

Everything went well and the business grew
rapidly, Marshal was able to leave his
other business and the newly graduated
daughter, Martha, joined up full-time.

Martha May

Emma May	A few years later, they lost Emma May, and the two other daughters, Nancy and Judy, stepped in. By this time the place was growing fast and more building had to be done. At the same time, Marshal gave the entire business to his four daughters.
From the beginning, it was our aim to grow the best plants possible and to offer things that were not always available in other places. The first real plunge was adding a line of cactus and succulents. These plants were the passion of Martha. She has since retired but cactus are still one of our specialties. Other passions led to herbs, tropical plants and roses.	Helen, Judy, Martha & Nancy May

Marshal & Helen May

Our main plant sales were of
vegetable and annuals. In the early
years our customers had almost no
interest in perennials. Now they are
a major, major part of our crops
and interest continues to increase. The
demand for plants for ponds is great
and we also have branched out into
orchids and carnivorous plants. Bonsai
fascinates second daughter, Helen, and
there is interest in trough gardening
so that may show up in a few years.

Judy (May) Kean

Judy is the next to youngest and
stepped in to handle the shop and
the bookkeeping when Emma May
died in 1973.

Marshal May

In 1992, Marshal May died and
although they had already been
managing for several years,
his loss made them feel very
vulnerable and alone.

Helen May In 2003, Helen May retired. Her remarkable knowledge of plants was always a great asset.	Nancy (May) Bruce The oldest sister, Nancy, is now retired although we still count on her to order and sow seed for spring transplants.
Ed Swango Ed Swango, the Greenhouse Manager, who has been working for Mays since 1981, became a co-owner.	Bob Pennington Bob Pennington, who has been with Mays since 1997, also became co-owner. On January 1, 2004, Mays became a Corporation.

The business continues to grow and we
keep coming up with ideas to improve it. We
have some wonderful people working for us
and feel that we owe much of our good
fortune to them. We hope to continue for many
years and look forward to each spring.

Arial view 2002

This picture was taken in 2002 and since then the two
large pine trees have been cut down. They had been struck by lightening
and were slowly dying. Two greenhouses have been moved and another
greenhouse built and our customer parking area has been
paved. We plan to add another greenhouse before long.