An Interview With Southern Business Owner

TN Nursery History in the Mail Order Nursery Business - Humble Beginnings

TN Nursery in Altamont, Tennessee. Offering quality plants freshly dug and delivered to your door is what this company has done for over 69 years and three generations.

Tammy Sons were born in 1969 in a small town called Altamont, Tennessee. She was the youngest of four children. Her mother was a homemaker, and her father was a nurseryman. Tammy's father and mother were in the lower-income bracket, and on many summers, Tammy remembers not having meat for days at a time and living off the family garden in warm months that her parents grew for food. She states, "there was not a lot of meat and junk food, but our mother always ensured we had three hot meals daily."

When Tammy was 24, she went to beauty school and owned a successful beauty parlor in her small subdivision. She married young and had two children by the age of 24. Her husband Dennis was a logger; she did hair in the evenings, on weekends, and at night while watching their two children. By age 30, Tammy had her third child, a daughter, and was beginning to get bored with fixing hair every day. She started peddling nursery plants on the side.

Mail Order Nursery on Wheels

Tn Nursery is a leading mail-order nursery. Tammy would hire someone to go with her, get plants, travel from nursery to nursery, and resell them for a small profit. In 2004 Dennis and Tammy left their small subdivision and moved 12 miles away to a small 13 acres mini farm with barns and fields. It was like a breath of fresh air to their children. They had a pond residing on their property's sides and room to roam and play without being in a crowded subdivision. They were thrilling days, Tammy recalls. That was when they started entertaining the idea of starting a mail-order nursery.

Dennis had a higher calling to quit his job and start growing their nursery stock in 2000, and they planted the entire 13 acres without planters or any heavy planting equipment. It was all done on their knees in rows planting each tree by hand. Later that year, in the fall, Tammy typed up price lists of their complete inventory. It sold in less than 19 days when she sent out a few flyers to some star nurseries, and a buyer from New Jersey came in and bought it all.

The mortgage was $74000.00, and they sold enough nursery stock to pay their mortgage off. Tammy's family was amazed that they could make a good living from only growing their plants. A couple of years passed, and they found a larger farm and home back in the Altamont TN city limited and purchased it. This small farm had 56 acres and a lovely home on it. Soon they were moving, planting more stock on it, and selling out of every single plant and tree they would produce.

A Website Made The Difference In This Mail Order Nursery

In 2009 Tammy built her first website. Instead of selling to wholesale companies, they broadened their selling capabilities to retail so homeowners could also purchase plants on their eCommerce website https://www.tnnursery.net. Their business got so large with their small mail-order company; they decided to move to some vacant land for their packing warehouse on the main street to get all the traffic away from their home farm. They also had a website dedicated primarily to wholesale orders for large volumes at meager grower prices at https://www.wholesalenurseryco.com.

Today, Tammy's nursery employs many families and people with jobs in the small area of Grundy County, Tennessee, and sells to over 90,000 people and a host of other businesses. Tammy now runs one of the largest mail-order nurseries in the area, and having her nursery near the nursery capital of the world makes her able to source over 350 types of plants, trees, ferns, perennials, live stakes, mosses, and shrubs.

Advances in Recent Years

Tammy Sons and her flourishing TN Nursery have demonstrated exceptional growth abilities, customer satisfaction, and adaptability in recent years. Tammy's steadfast dedication to quality has guided the company to expand its reach and impact within the horticultural industry. TN Nursery earned its reputation for excellence by adopting innovative technologies, having strong customer relationships, and being committed to environmental stewardship. Tammy's vision and resilience have led to positive business advances that establish TN Nursery as a trustworthy brand for plant enthusiasts and gardening experts.

Tammy and TN Nursery achieved significant recognition through their broadened range of available products. Tammy tirelessly sources and cultivates distinct plant species to meet customer demand for new varieties. Thanks to the substantial evolution of TN Nursery's plant catalog, from native wildflowers to lush ferns, gardeners at every skill level can now find suitable landscape additions. Tammy's dedication to quality cultivation and rigorous quality control procedures guarantees that all plants shipped from TN Nursery meet the highest health and vitality benchmarks.

TN Nursery has succeeded through Tammy's strategic implementation of e-commerce platforms and offering product variety. She allocated resources to build an intuitive website because she recognized the rising significance of online purchasing, which enables nationwide customers to browse and buy plants from their homes. The business now considers timely order fulfillment and efficient shipping strategies as fundamental practices. TN Nursery maintains an active social media presence, which has generated a dynamic platform for gardening enthusiasts. Through her online tips and plant project, Tammy creates a digital community far beyond local garden centers.

TN Nursery maintains customer service as its primary concern, with Tammy driving significant improvements to deliver enjoyable shopping experiences to all clients. TN Nursery proves its dedication to customer satisfaction through knowledgeable staff who assist with plant selection and a responsive support team. Tammy dedicates her efforts to providing valuable content and personalized guidance, enabling new and experienced gardeners to meet their planting objectives. The company's commitment to service excellence has generated positive customer feedback while building a loyal customer base that reinforces its strong reputation.

Tammy Sons leads TN Nursery with equal excellence through her commitment to environmental sustainability and responsible practices. TN Nursery actively reduces waste by adopting efficient packaging techniques and utilizing materials with a low ecological footprint. The company stresses the significance of planting native species because they support local wildlife and help maintain biodiversity. Tammy works with conservation groups and educational programs to teach her customers eco-friendly gardening methods while motivating them to implement these techniques throughout their personal spaces and communities.

During the last few years, Tammy Sons has successfully steered TN Nursery to exceptional levels of achievement. Tammy has transformed TN Nursery into a premier horticultural enterprise by expanding plant varieties and enhancing e-commerce capabilities while focusing on customer satisfaction and promoting sustainable practices. Through her innovative approaches and sincere pursuit of excellence, Tammy Sons ensures TN Nursery maintains a consistent growth trajectory, driving its success throughout the coming seasons.