4 SPRING 2022 BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT George and Harriet grew bedding plants in a greenhouse on Lane Street to sell as a part-time venture, then in 1956, moved Panorama Gardens to its current location at 3055 Highway 44. In subsequent years, more greenhouses were built, and a flower shop was added. Today, David and Ilene work together—with David focused more on the greenhouse side and Ilene on the flower shop side—to sell a wide variety of garden center products, bedding plants, and floral arrangements. David said, “Panorama Gardens is a true family-run business. Ilene and I have employed many family members through the years, including parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins, kids, and grandkids. We now have 4th generation employees, as our grandkids work here. Our children and in-laws still come and work at holiday time and when we need help unloading multiple pallets from a truck.” Getting Through the Pandemic The pandemic created twists and turns for business at Panorama Gardens, as Ilene explained: “In spring 2020, the flower shop was mandated to be closed for a couple of months, but we could do curbside pickup and delivery. The greenhouse portion got to stay open, because we were deemed an essential service during gardening season. We have several loyal part-time employees that didn’t know what to do, so we suggested they just stay home until we found out more about what was going on. Eventually, they all came back to help answer the phones (thank you, Panora Telco), get the plants ready for spring business, and do deliveries. We had the busiest Easter in many years in 2020, since people couldn’t gather for Easter dinner and sent flowers to family instead. It was also a big gardening year in 2020, with food chain worries prompting more people to grow their own vegetables.” David and Ilene Olson bought Panorama Gardens in 1977 and have been running it ever since. However, the roots of this growing business go back two decades prior, when David’s parents, George and Harriet Olson, founded Panorama Gardens at their home on Lane Street in Panora. You could say the Olson family tree is filled with flowers Panorama Gardens
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