Yesterday I had the great fortune to visit J. Frank Schmidt & Son Nursery on a personal tour led by none other than the fabulous Nancy Buley, Communications Director at JFS.

If you’re not familiar with J. Frank Schmidt, umm, it’s one of the largest and most respected wholesale nurseries in the country.  They sell bareroot, B&B, and potted trees to garden centers and growers all across the U.S.

No doubt you’re familiar with Red Sunset® maple–probably the most popular tree cultivar of all time.  It’s a JFS introduction, along with over 70 other selected and named trees that they have brought to market.

And if you don’t know Nancy Buley, well, that’s your loss.  Nancy’s an icon in the nursery business and was just awarded in April of this year the prestigious Frederick Law Olmsted Award from the National Arbor Day Foundation for her efforts in encouraging the planting of trees.

She’s Kind of a Big Deal, but you’d never know it from talking to her.  From our very first contact, she was so warm and welcoming to me that I felt like we were already old friends.