July 20, 2007 : Bailey Trip

I took the male employees (talk about discrimination) down to the cities on Wednesday and Thursday. We visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum on Wednesday, and then hurried downtown to catch a Twins game. Everybody seemed to have a pretty good time. After the game we found out that Holiday Inn had overbooked, and though Eric had already paid for our rooms they had none and were going to send us over to the Excel Inn. It was a minor fiasco and not as nice of a hotel, but by then it was after midnight and we just wanted a bed. Of course the toilet backed up in one room, the air conditioner was loud in another. I got my own room out of the deal, so I wasn't too upset.

On Thursday morning we headed over to Bailey Nurseries, a huge wholesale operation and the primary reason for our trip. They were having their annual open house and giving tours of the operation. Every detail spoke of a well-run organization. As soon as you were on Bailey Road wondering where to park there was a man with a orange flag waving you in. From there a series of flag-wavers led you to your parking spot inside an enormous bare root storage warehouse. Soon a smiling man in a golf cart zoomed up to carry us to the registration area. From there we got on a bus which took us to their propagation farm, where they root millions of trees, shrubs, roses, and perennials. They have a policy of keeping no secrets and go out of their way to answer any question about plants and methods.
Then followed a buffet lunch. Dale, who cares about these things, said the chicken was like someone's grandmother would make.

After Bailey's we visited Gerten's, another big wholesale and retail outlet. They were gracious enough to give us a private tour, and we were able to chat with Leo, a Brazilian ag exchange student that worked for us last year.