Hidden Gems: Meet Linda Washburn of PWP Greenhouse

Today we’d like to introduce you to Linda Washburn.

Hi Linda, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
We are a family-owned business operating on our Century Farm in Pall Mall, TN. We began in the early 80s with the idea for the families of 2 brothers and 1 sister to move back and establish a greenhouse business.

We started with one greenhouse to see if this was a possibility, and gradually grew until we currently have 56 greenhouses and about 5 acres of outdoor grow space. We grow about 1.3 million vegetables, herbs, perennials, and annuals each year.

We wholesale to Tennessee, Kentucky, and Northern Alabama. We have 5 retail stores in Lenoir City, Murfreesboro, Lebanon, and Pall Mall, which are managed by the family and extended family. We also do a mum fundraiser and a poinsettia fundraiser each year.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Since we grow such a wide variety of plants, there was a lot of learning involved and some trial and error. Many plant varieties are very specific in their growing requirements, so we had to educate ourselves on that. We cut a lot of expenses by doing the labor ourselves.

One example was bending the metal pipe for the bows of the greenhouse around the silo for the shape! Heating was a big expense to start with as we tried coal, then wood. Now we heat all our greenhouses with propane. Control of disease and insects was a learn as you grow procedure.

We started our business with box stores but now deal almost exclusively with smaller greenhouses. We also do fundraisers in the spring, fall, and winter to provide year-round income.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about PWP Greenhouse?
We are a wholesale greenhouse with 5 retail locations as well.

We grow a wide variety of plants, including vegetables, herbs, annuals, and perennials. We also grow and sell hanging baskets and various sizes of mixed containers. Succulents are very popular now, and we sell them singly or in planters or hanging baskets.

We are known for our quality and the wide variety of plants we offer. We also offer tours of our facilities and workshops during the spring.

What do you think about luck?
The best luck that we have had was that we were one of the first growers in Tennessee to receive our license to grow and sell hemp clones.

They were very profitable the first year we grew them, then the market bottomed out. We cut our production back substantially for the next couple of years, so didn’t really lose money.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.wolfriver.net
• Facebook: Wolf River Valley Growers & PWP Greenhouses; Valley Growers Garden Centers Murfreesboro/Lascassas; Valley Growers-Lebanon, Meadow View Greenhouses, and Garden Center;