Visit
us at Hamlen’s. Enjoy browsing through our garden
center. Take a look at all the new items for 2009 including
our selection of decorative garden gazebos.
Our
friendly staff will be glad to answer your gardening
questions and help you select just the items you need.
Come and discover wonderful ideas for creating an inviting
and relaxing garden environment inside and outside your
home.
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Our
35th Year!
 Lunch
With Dave
By Katrina Giard
In celebration
of Hamlen's Garden Center's 35 year and as a ninth year member
of the staff, I would like to pay tribute to Hamlen's by sharing
with you thoughts from a lunch time conversation with Dave,
the founder and owner of Hamlen's. When I cornered Dave over
his bowl of soup to ask him a few questions, Dave looked a
bit puzzled that after years of working in the business, I'd
be asking him basic questions about his outlook. He responded,
“To know what I think, look at the bumper sticker on
my office door. That sums it up!”
“If
it is not fun, why do it? Ben & Jerry's"
Certainly this has been the motif of the boomer generation
in which Dave is ensconced, but what is the unique story of
the vehicle called Hamlen's Garden Center that Dave has made
his life's work and play? And where is the business going
from here?
A closer
look shows a business started by a young Franklin County man
in 1974 who was following his heart. Acknowledging “the
benefits we reap from plants” and deriving a sense of
satisfaction from learning, Dave increased his knowledge of
horticulture and landscaping in college and in “meeting
the challenges of business” as he began Hamlen's Garden
Center at his family home in Swanton, Vermont.
One aspect
of Hamlen's business that Dave seems to relish with the same
joy as a musician playing a concert is landscape design. Asked
about the growth of the landscaping component of the Garden
Center he reminisced: “as Vermonters traveled more and
more they saw landscapes that they wanted to have at home.”
This shift in the Vermonters' experience enhanced this facet
of the business.
Does Dave
see major changes for the future of Hamlen's? His goals appear
the same, based in: “listening for the best thing for
our customers” and to continue “enjoying doing
this.”
Among
Dave's collection of bumper stickers, plaques and posters
is one that begins:
“A
Customer, A customer is the most important visitor on our
premises.”
Underlying
the element of fun that Hamlen's likes to promulgate is a
genuine interest in its customers. Whether a customer is interested
in purchasing a tree, a houseplant, a product or a landscape
or if he/she simply walks through the door to enhance his/her
life with new plant knowledge and a brighter outlook, Hamlen's
looks to learn from and to provide for that customer.
Not only
did Dave begin Hamlen's by following his heart, but he surrounds
himself with employees who like Dave, appreciate plants and
people and who live from their hearts.
We hope
you notice that we at Hamlen's enjoy attending to the needs
of our customers and we look forward to seeing you this season.
Welcome, in Hamlen's 35th year!
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