Email
Print
FeedLanoha Nurseries: Family Pride
When Lanoha Nurseries was started in 1973 by Dave Lanoha, it was a small lawn and landscape company. Today, 36 years later, it is the metro area’s largest residential and commercial landscape contractor, with over 1100 acres of growing fields, over 80 acres of container perennials and shrub production, and the city’s most extensive garden center.
Lanoha’s is a two-generation, family run business. Dave, its founder, represents the first generation of Lanoha's and serves as president. His sons, Chris and Jason, are the second generation Lanoha’s who “manage and run most facets of the company on a day to day basis,” explains Chris. Chris has always liked getting his hands dirty in the family business: “I’ve been a part of our family business since I was able to walk…
I’ve worked here my whole life.” Even when he is away from “the office,” he is elbow deep in dirt. “What down time I do have is spent out in the yard or in our tree fields,” he admits.
What sets Lanoha apart from its national chain competitor is the home grown aspect of the nursery. Yes, it is a locally conceived and independently owned business, but the majority of its stock is literally home grown. The nursery moved to its current West Omaha location to acquire enough land to grow what it sells. “We produce and grow our own trees, and most of our shrubs, perennials and annuals,” Chris explains. “We take pride in the products we offer. This is why we chose to expand– to give our customer home grown quality plant material.”
Samples of Lanoha’s work abound throughout Omaha and Lincoln. Village Pointe, Southpointe and Shadow Lake Towne Center are just a few properties it has planted and maintains. But the size of Lanoha’s does not mean it only caters to considerable scale residential or commercial contacts. Assures Chris: “We plant everything from a single tree to the largest job sites in the Midwest.”
Gardening, always popular, is increasingly becoming one of the leading leisure activities in America, Chris has observed over his years at Lanoha’s. It is a great family activity, as he can personally attest. “The family garden, either in containers on a patio or a small patch in the back yard, has become very popular,” he says. It is satisfying on so many levels. It’s elemental, connecting you with nature in an intimate way. It’s communal, offering family members- young and old, novices and experienced alike- the opportunity to unplug and share time out of doors.
Chris is a big advocate of showing children where their food comes from. “Introducing children to the delights of planting seeds or small starter plants, tending plants, and finally harvesting their bounty is a great summer activity,” he believes. He recommends herbs as an especially good introduction to gardening. If yard space is limited, they grow quite happily in pots. Bring them indoors during the winter for an added bonus. It’s economical, too; fresh herbs in the produce aisle at the supermarket are pricey and their quality, sometime dubious.
Chris’ years with Lanoha’s have seen many trends come and go. Currently, incorporating hardscape elements in your garden design is popular. “Using a mix of natural stones to create another layer within the design by constructing stone outcroppings and walls is a hot trend right now,” he observes. So is creating outdoor living spaces in which homeowners bring indoor rooms, like kitchens, living and dining rooms, outdoors. Their yards become extensions of their homes’ interiors. To add ambiance, homeowners are including water and fire into their landscaping. Chris says waterfalls and ponds are popular ways to introduce the soothing sound of water into your backyard sanctuary. Fireplaces and fire pits, in turn, create warmth when the evening air becomes crisp and slightly tinged with chill.
“Green” gardening is also gaining in popularity as consumers become more aware of our tender ecological state. Using organic wood mulch, grouping plants by their watering requirements to cut down on water waste, and using phosphorous-free fertilizers are all simple ways to protect the earth while beautifying it.
Gardening does require patience. As Chris maintains, a completely carefree garden does not exist. But more and more homeowners are looking to create an established look. To this end, Lanoha’s does offer large plant material because “customers don’t want to wait long for maturity anymore… They want instant impact.”
To Chris, the size of your garden does not matter. What is important is the connection to nature that gardening supplies. “Nature is an important part of the human spirit,” Chris states. “It is important to your health to be surrounded by nature and beauty because it helps wash away the stress of the day.”
So when you walk through the front door and toss you keys on the hall table at the end of the day, head out to your own private garden for a little rejuvenation. Lanoha Nurseries can help you create your own oasis if one is lacking or spruce up an existing space. It’s time well spent.
