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An Obsession for gardening

May 2, 2016 | 8:48 AM

Obsession Greenhouses of St. Louis literally started by accident, but continued to grow and develop along with the obsession for planting of Betty Rancourt.

“We moved to St. Louis, this is my hometown, in 1993  while I was pregnant with our third child  and we wanted to live in a small town again,” Rancourt recalls. “We bought my Grandparent’s house and in the back were still my Grandmother’s flowerbeds. I had promised my grandmother when we moved in that I would always make sure that there were flowers in the yard. My mother had been growing her own flowers for years and it was her success with plants that made me start.  My mom and I decided to start by trying to plant Petunias from seed. There  was some trial and error – a lot of error because most of the plants didn’t grow, so the next year we planted many more and they all came up!”

From this happy accident, Rancourt found herself in the position of transplanting nearly 1,000 petunias into whatever containers she could find. A hairdresser by profession, Rancourt  had  her hair salon in  her home. Her customers noticed all of her plants so she  started giving them away.

Eventually though, customers wanted to buy them and started making requests for other types of plants and flowers.

Very quickly the demand for plants along with  Rancourt’s interest in starting new and standard garden produce increased.

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Through the years, her husband helped her by building tables  with grow lights in the basement, to building temporary greenhouses, one even out of rebar and then a small 8’x10’  greenhouse. “Eventually, in 2002 we knew it was time to expand so we put up a larger greenhouse within the village. It wasn’t long before we were running out of space again each season”.  A larger piece of property was needed so they moved their greenhouses to the new property where they are currently located. They added another large greenhouse and gift store  that is filled with unique and lovely giftware.  The two large greenhouses are brimming with standard greenhouse fare along with unique plants Betty has researched and found.

One example is a  climbing petunia.

“We had a gentleman come in and ask about a  climbing petunia and so I did some research and eventually was able to get the seeds at a reasonable cost from England,” she says. “So I ordered these seeds and they grew really well and now we have all these potted petunias that will crawl up to about  6 feet. “

Unlike many businesses that start with a business plan and a strategy of operation. Obsession Greenhouses has literally grown as a labor of love with the Rancourts adding things as they go. Now with the current gardening trend, styles are changing and people are expecting more from a greenhouse.

Rancourt has a variety of lovely pots and transplant scenery.

Customers order pots for the year and Rancourt is able to assist them with the plants most suited to their yards in terms of light and location and color schemes. Because she is local, she knows most of her customers very well, knows their locations, knows their likes and dislikes and is able to create potted plants to suit.

“Customers come in and give me an idea of what they want to spend, and ideas of what they would like, I give some advice based on where the pots will go, and then I create the pots.”

Rancourt and Obsessions is very involved in the community as well. They understand how important supporting your community is and enjoys doing so while appreciating the support that they receive as well. The greenhouse has two opening celebrations each year which act like a kick off to the start of each season.  One unique characteristic with the greenhouse is that volunteers from the community and surrounding area come every spring to help with the transplanting and work in the greenhouses.

“It works out very well, because there are so many ladies in the community looking for something to do and just wanting to be in the greenhouse,  and then the ladies take plants and products in return.”

At Obsessions you will find vegetables, herbs, flowers, grasses, perennials and the baskets. You will also see a fantastic selection of giftware in the main storefront.

Because of the giftware, Obsessions is now open twice a year. The Christmas shopping season  starts after Remembrance Day until Christmas. The current spring season opens April 30th  and will run until the end of June.

Both season openings have a Grand Opening Wine and Cheese day.

The Spring Wine and Cheese Opening will be May 5th from 7 – 9 p.m.

Betty is excited for another great greenhouse season this year and looks forward to seeing all of her regular customers and meeting her new customers!  You can call us at 306-422-8211

 Visit our Web site http://www.obsessiongreenhouse.com/

Or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Obsessiongreenhouses/