Lee County nursery focuses on variety, customer service

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition

Carol Kilgore, (left) a Tanglewood Nursery employee, shows Noah, a visitor to the nursery, some of the fall flowers blooming at the 20-year-old business . -- Staff photo by Taylor

Oct. 14, 2004 - What started as a hobby for Leroy and Betty Smith, almost 20 years ago, has mushroomed into several acres of the Tanglewood Nursery. Tucked into the northeast corner of Lee County, near Lexington, the nursery offers retail and wholesale buyers a beautiful variety of in-season bedding plants and hanging baskets, along with shrubs, trees, and a landscaping service.

As Carol Kilgore, an employee of nine years noted, "We have a little bit of everything!" According to Kilgore, she and four other employees assist the Smiths in the care of the nursery, and each person helps in the watering, planting, and waiting on customers.

During the summer, Kilgore said it gets "pretty hot," and most of the plants need to be watered, daily. Thankfully, with cooler weather, the watering schedule slows a bit. Driving north on Texas Highway 77, if you "blink," you might miss the Tanglewood rural community, but Kilgore noted they have regular customers who drive from Houston, Waco, Fort Worth and Dallas, along with those who come from all along the bay area, to purchase their plants, trees and shrubs.

Prices at Tanglewood Nursery rival the larger chain stores in the area, and their products are more varied than those stores, too. The Smiths and their employees pride themselves on growing and selling the best plants, trees, and shrubs in South Central Texas and hope to continue to expand.

While the Smiths purchase most of their shrubs and trees from a Louisiana grower, many of the bedding plants are purchased from a grower in Giddings in Lee County. The plan is to start growing more of their own trees and shrubs, said Kilgore.

The best thing to Kilgore about working with the plants is starting with a small part of a plant and seeing it take root and grow into a "real" plant.

In 2003, the nursery was struck by a tornado which destroyed many of the plants, along with several structures. While part of the damage was insured, not all things were covered, and the clean-up process was really hard work, the employees just all kicked in and did what they had to do.

"We just sucked it up and made it better," laughed Kilgore.

It's very obvious the employees enjoy working with nature and the plants, but there is more to employment at Tanglewood Nursery than that. Kilgore puts it this way, "We've got the greatest bosses in the world. They're like family!"

With a group of employees that feel that way, the Smiths will have a good reason to continue to grow and furnish the best plants they can, because it shows in the way the employees treat the guests to the nursery.