By DENISE R. FREELAND
News Leader Staff Writer
Floyd and Alberta Passmore are accustomed to having children around Passmore's Greenhouse. Their six grandchildren have helped out through the years, transplanting, planting baskets and cleaning up at the greenhouse.
The youngest four, Maria, Melissa, Zack, and Alexandria, still help out, and the Passmores enjoy having children around.
This year, Floyd and Alberta will continue their tradition of allowing each child who visits the greenhouse on Mother's Day to choose a three-pack of annuals to surprise his mother with.
"A lot of times its daddies that bring them to get flowers for their mommas," Alberta said. "This way, the kids can pick out something special for their mommas. I just love the kids."
A child visiting Passmore's Greenhouse on Mother's Day, however, might have trouble choosing just one annual from the many tables of brightly blooming pansies, violas, petunias, marigolds, and many others.
Parents can choose from a wide variety of perennials, hanging baskets, planters and urns, and nursery stock. The greenhouse's stock of trees and shrubs includes Alberta spruces, azaleas, roses, viburnums and many others. Hanging baskets overflow with wave petunias, fuscias, non-stop begonias, lobelia, verbena and geraniums.
New this year to Passmore's Greenhouse are a limited stock of mandevillas, a vining plant with tropical-looking flowers that must be taken inside during the winter. The greenhouse is also carrying hibiscus this spring, both the perennial shrub and houseplant varieties.
As always, the Passmores are offering seed potatoes, onion sets and vegetable plants.
The greenhouse has added red and black mulch to the brown it has always carried, and mulches and top soil are available for delivery or pick-up.
Passmore's Greenhouse is located at 100 Arbor Road NE and can be reached at 330-868-3854. It is open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.