On Friday night March 21st 2008 around 8 o’clock a fire occurred in my greenhouse. We believe it was caused by one of the old florescent lamps.
About 1/4 of the bench space was destroyed and just under 1/2 the plants were destroyed or damaged by the intense heat. Working all night, I was able to get everything else inside the house before the cold damaged the remaining stock in the back half of the structure.
The business was closed for about a month, a very short time in retrospect. And in that time I was able to get the greenhouse cleaned up and re-skinned. I don’t remember sleeping that whole month. I reopened on April 17th 2008 to local walk-in business. I was even able to get some new benches built. No florescent lamps this time…
I arranged with Brennan’s Orchids to keep a bench full of blooming Phalaenopsis available on consignment for customers who want a high quality alternative to our local hardware store’s selection. I offer a huge Thank You to them for these plants and for opening their greenhouses to my orchid refugees during the renovation period immediately after the fire. The Brennans showed up with a heated truck as soon as they heard I needed help and their generosity helped prevent a much larger loss. Good People.