Couple finds retirement fun turning chairs into garden art

SUFFOLK

When Johnny Minter retired from United Parcel Service in January 2008, he had to do something with all of that pent-up, UPS-guy energy.

His wife, Joan, knew her multitalented man was capable of doing just about anything, so she let him make the decision about a retirement occupation.

"I've always loved plants," he says. "My granddaddy was a farmer. My dad always had a big garden. Growing, rooting and propagating - it all fascinates me."

"This is one talented gentleman," his wife says, patting her husband fondly.

Johnny got into planting and growing plants right away, but his unusual business - The Plant Peddler - didn't really get out of the ground until he and Joan brought back two ruellias from Florida.

"They're Mexican petunias," Joan said. "They'll have 50 or 60 bright, purple flowers on them every morning. The flowers fall off by night, but they're there again the next morning."

Johnny said he tried rooting the petunias every way he knew, until he decided to forget about the fancy stuff and simply clip, bury in potting soil and water. They took off. This summer the Minters have spread the petunias across the area.

But, for him, it had to be more than the plants that were different. For the business to really take off, how they were presented needed to be different as well.

That's when Joan came up with an idea she'd seen in a magazine several years ago: old chairs planted with flower arrangements. The "pots" in the chairs' seats are made of chicken wire and burlap.

The Minters started visiting yard sales, thrift shops and auctions to buy the chairs. At the same time, they bought and planted in whatever other discarded containers they found.

It got to the point that neighbors and friends started setting old chairs and lamp fixtures in their driveway, Joan said.

In his spare time, Johnny built himself a two-story greenhouse in the backyard, looking like a miniature Japanese pagoda in Holland. The log greenhouse is built on the foundation of what once was a smokehouse. A concrete floor with a drain was already there.

More recycling.

Their customers seem to be looking to get more for their money this year than last, Joan said. "It's the economy. People are demanding perennials, something that comes back every year. They're planting themselves rather than hiring landscapers, and they're looking for more value in the plants."

That's why the seats of the chairs are stuffed with yard plants that can reproduce and multiply. Many customers want them for patios and porches. Others simply set them out in the garden.

The business has taken off so well that the Minters invested in an old bus that once belonged to New Dominion Pictures, rebuilt the engine and shined up the paint. The bus hauls the plants to craft sales around the area.

They've also rented a lot next to a 7-11 on U.S. 58, not far from their Holland home. That's where Johnny stations himself with his plants when the weather isn't unbearably hot. The rest of the time they stay busy with the shows, and they're open to special orders.

The chairs sell for about $40 each. Planted fountains run from $85 to $100. They also have BLTs, new this year, consisting of a patio tomato, ever-bearing lettuce and a pig statue.

You can see The Plant Peddler at Peanut Fest in October and other area community gatherings. For orders, e-mail j1minter@peoplepc.com.

Linda McNatt, 222-5561,

linda.mcnatt@pilotonline.com