FLORENCE — Hundreds of local vendors are at the Pee Dee State Farmers Market as part of the spring Southern Plant and Flower Festival this weekend.
Among those is S.M. Gladding who sells herbs, plants and flowers he grows at his own greenhouses in Darlington County.
Gladding and his wife, Jo-Ann, have had the Herb Garden at the Pee Dee State Farmers Market for the last 15 years.
The couple have eight green houses they tend to year round.
“People come and see us because they know that they are locally grown and they aren’t shipped from Florida or anywhere else,” S.M. Gladding said. “They are acclimated to the weather here.”
S.M. Gladding said plants can get temperature shock if they are shipped in from somewhere else because they are not used to the climate here.
People like Lynn Wise represent 85 percent of the Gladdings’ customer base. Wise said she buys from the Herb Garden every summer because she loves to buy locally-grown plants.
“I checked around and he had great prices and beautiful plants,” Wise said.
The cold winter caused the Gladdings to use twice as much propane for heating their green houses this year. But the Gladdings didn’t carry those extra expenses over to their customers.
“We’re keeping the prices the same. You can’t overcharge customers,” S.M. Gladding said. “We work on a margin and sometimes it’s smaller. For us ,it would be different if we were 30 years old. But we’re not.”
The Herb Garden is open from mid-March through mid-October. S.M. Gladding said he’s are always busiest the first few weeks after opening. This year, the Gladdings sold 39 ferns, one of their most popular plants, along with thyme, oregano and cilantro.
The Southern Plant and Flower Festival continues through Sunday.
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