Our Story
We care deeply about our environment. We drink the well water and look out over the marsh while we work, observing the birds and animals come and go. It is a privilege to be surrounded by the nature we love and feel a kinship with our ecological community. We tread lightly and strive to strike a balance between profit and purpose.
Van Berkum is as much about people as it is about plants. Our success depends upon our team’s collective energy, intelligence, and creativity. We are part of a wonderful human community and take seriously our effects on the people we work with, live with, and interact with at a greater distance. We strive to maintain a diverse staff of individuals employing folks from across the human spectrum with varying educational and experiential levels of expertise and points of view. Our team consists of local people from greater Deerfield, people who are new here in America, and returning seasonal staff from Jamaica, members of the H2a program.
Our innovative and eco-conscious staff has been working hard to develop new growing methods that increase availability while not compromising the plant’s root quality or stressing our nursery’s ecological footprint. While we love ornamental perennials and continue to grow them responsibly, we recognize that now more than ever is the right time to increase our Local Ecotype line-up. Grown here at the nursery from seed collected around New England, where genetic diversity and adaptability potential are preserved, we are grateful to get these critical plants onto the market. We have been busy collecting seed these last few years, and we are lucky to have a network of partnerships that contribute to our Local Ecotype seed portfolio.
We strongly believe in the importance of native plants and their vital ecological role in our landscapes and are of the opinion that stewardship and gardening are not mutually exclusive. We are still gardeners who appreciate the color and textures that the perennial palette brings to the garden and enjoy offering our customers a choice of well-grown options to augment the landscape as we all strive to incorporate more natives.
We influence responsible choices through education, engagement, and collaboration and by holding ourselves to high standards. We can make a far more significant impact together, and we look forward to partnering with you.