About Us

Plants of the Wild

High-quality Plants... and People, too! Our Employees

Various paths and decisions have brought each of us to Plants of the Wild. We remind ourselves regularly that we are all here for the same reason, we just didn't take the same route. 

Our purpose is to provide you, our valued customer, with the best possible product for the best value. Native plants that thrive in your projects are the reason that we are here, and we take pride in the success of YOUR projects.

We feel very fortunate that our team is made up of so many experienced folks! That makes progress and production so much easier, even in the busiest times.
Here is a peek behind the scenes!

At left, employees both current and former joined to celebrate Paul's retirement.  Front row:  Carrie, LaDonna, Tia, Kayla with Brogan. Seated, center:  Jerry, Brenda, Paul, Brexley. Back row:  David, Mark, Gerry, Pablo & Kathy.  

Our Employees

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Kathy

Kathy, our Nursery Manager - and Fearless Leader - has been with the nursery since 1987. Her knowledge of native plants, which was passed down to her from her late father, has been a perfect fit here at Plants of the Wild. As she says, "My dad was into natives before it was the cool thing to do", and he shared that love with Kathy. After college, when her husband applied for a job in Tekoa as a Vo. Ag. teacher she couldn't imagine what a Horticulture degree could be used for in Tekoa, of all places... then she heard about a small nursery, just down the road. The rest, as they say, is history!

She began working in the greenhouses soon after, and quickly worked her way to the top. Her leadership, patience and guidance have been invaluable to each of the employees as they have found their place at the nursery.  Along with her husband Dan, Kathy enjoys entertaining and gardening, spending time at both Clear Lake and Big Creek with family and friends, and of course keeping up with daughters Kayla & Jordyn, son-in-laws Ryan & Madison, and 4 granddaughters Brooklyn, Brexley, Brogan and Quinnley! 

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Carrie

Carrie, Assistant Nursery Manager, began working for Seeds, Inc. and Plants of the Wild while still in High School. After college she came back to the nursery for "a couple of weeks" while going to some interviews, and she hasn't looked back! That was in 1994. Carrie has enjoyed learning "Tricks of the Trade" in seed stratification, shipping, sales, nursery management, and is also the receptionist for Seeds, Inc. Some of her other duties include managing the POTW website, online updates, billing, inventory, and processing online orders. Seeds keeps her especially busy during grass seed harvest & she enjoys working with both the field men and growers to get all the details for their crop!

Most of her free time is spent keeping up with her 2 cats and Bassett Hound pup Maverick, who can be found at the nursery most mornings,  and nephew's Zeke & Eli - for her, being a "Titi" is a full time job!  Road trips and searching for treasures at any little thrift store or yard sale along the way has become a new pastime that her boyfriend introduced her to, and now she's forever on the hunt for something to repurpose and decorate with! Hobbies include container gardening, crafting and shopping, and anything that the nieces and nephews are involved with.  

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Pablo & Leonarda

Pablo started with POTW in 2001, and besides a few stints in the oil fields of North Dakota, has been with us for the long haul! A seasoned veteran, Pablo started out pulling and packing small plant orders.  Now, 20+ years later, transplanting large stock, canyard maintenance, irrigation and large container orders are Pablo's specialty!  He is the creator of our stacking system for full trailer loads and winter storage and has perfected this art over the years to make it not only sturdy, but usable too, for those odd-season shipments that come up, and have to be pulled from the pyramids.  Pablo is a quiet leader, who never expects more out of others than he expects from himself and having his sons and brothers work along side him has been a huge blessing to us all. 

Leonarda began in the spring of 2004. Sowing, thinning, cleaning, pulling, packing and shipping orders are just some of her daily duties. She takes great pride in her work and in making sure that each order goes out looking good and - most importantly - correct! Sowing seed by hand is no easy task, yet each spring she tackles the project with precision, enthusiasm and patience!! It takes a special person to be able to do the job, and we are so thankful for Leo and her dedication to getting it done.   She is also in charge of our seed stratification processes and has been "studying" under Kathy for years... It truly is the heart of our business, and we appreciate her attention to detail. Another of Leo's duties recently has been training our new hires.  As the greenhouse veteran, Leo has done almost everything around POTW at one time or another, and knows all the tricks of the trade.  Her speed and precision with making bundles is unmatched, and gives the new folks a goal to be "as fast as Leo"!

When they're not in the nursery, Pablo and Leo spend their free time doing yard work and housework for others in the area, enjoying family time with their 4 kids, entertaining at their home, and making tamales for the whole community and sharing pictures of their 3 year old granddaughter Melany!

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David

David began working part-time off and on in June of 2020 to help us get caught up on some projects.  In February of 2021 he stepped in with an open mind, very little horticultural background, and a desire to learn, to become our new Grower.  He has taken the responsibility on head first, got a crash course from Paul and now is being tutored by the best in the business - Kathy!

Before coming to Plants of the Wild, he was self-employed and has decided to turn that love of all things "antique" and "vintage" into his hobby for now.  Weekends, and evenings he can be spotted "sourcing" at yard sales, thrift stores, estate sales and the like, with a special passion for rusty oil cans, signs and old cars - the collection of which just continues to grow!   Other pass-times (besides collecting vintage artifacts) include working on cars, fishing, cooking, grilling and spoiling - and spending time - with his young nephews.  Small town life is new for David, but he has taken to it well, and now calls Tekoa his home along with Carrie, their 2 cats and Maverick the Bassett Hound. 

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Json

Json (yes, NO a, it isn't a type-o!) joined our crew for a short stint back in the late '90's... and after exploring many parts of the USA has "come home to roost" in Tekoa, and joined us again in 2022!!  We are thrilled to have him back, leading our greenhouse staff and keeping all things "greenhouse" on schedule.  His easy-going personality and can-do attitude has been such an asset to our team!  He is ultimately in charge of all greenhouse and cooler orders for delivery, will-call and shipping, and manages to keep everyone involved and in-the-loop through numerous changes, additions, substitutions, etc.  

In his down time, Json is an avid reader, fisherman and a very talented voice-over personality.  He is a very involved dad, with a great kiddo, who is also a part of our POTW Summer Helper family.  A fabulous and creative cook, he often shares his concoctions with us, which is always a treat - with lots of spice!

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mark
Mark

Mark began with Plants of the Wild in the spring of 2021.  He, however, wasn't new to our company. His journey actually began with Seeds, Inc. working in one of the seed mills for a few years.  Retirement called, and he answered that call in December of 2020...only to get "bored" in March and become our fulltime delivery guy!!!  So deliveries, transplanting, large container orders and some maintenance duties quickly became HIS... and the list continues to grow!  We are lucky to have him on board with us, and appreciate his willingness to do whatever needs done around the place.  

In his off-time, he and his wife Cyndi have a full farmyard on their little slice-o'-heaven in North Idaho to keep them busy, along with planning for the next big hunt!

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lalo and nene
Eduardo & Esau

The BROS!!   Esau (right) has been working for us since 2016: part-time at first while in High School, and then full time during summers and after graduation. After going on to pursue his education at The Barbering Program with Paul Mitchell, he has remained a dedicated part of our crew, while working on his certifications and getting his own Barber Shop set up.  Esau's duties include large container orders, large container transplanting, unloading incoming trucks and carefully and artistically loading the trucks and trailers we send out to customers.  He is also part of the crew responsible for hauling everything into our warehouse and stacking it for winter storage.  Nene, as we call him around here, is always willing to help, and has a great sense of humor that keeps us all on our toes!

Eduardo (left) has been working with us since September of 2022, and is the newest member on our crew.  He has quickly picked up the art of stacking pots in both trailers and warehouse, running all of the equipment, and picking large-container customer orders, as well as preparing retail customer orders.  He also keeps things tidy around the canyard, weeding and consolidating, which is no easy feat. In the spring Eduardo - aka Lalo - will begin transplanting on "the machine" along side his dad, brother and uncle.  In his free time he enjoys hanging out with family, and is a proud dad to his 3 year old daughter Melany.

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BECKY
Becky

Becky joined the greenhouse crew in the spring of 2022 pulling and packing orders and thinning and transplanting seedlings.  Tasked with preparing and shipping all of our "special" orders and non-traditional shipments for a national not-for-profit foundation, she does a great job keeping them all straight and getting them out in a timely manner.  

She has 2 daughters and enjoys spending her free time with them and being out in nature exploring her property either hiking or cross-country skiing as well as camping in the area.  Gardening is also a favorite hobby, and she also likes teaching others how to grow their own produce.  

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Summer Helpers

Each year, typically in June, we bring on a few high school kiddos to help us get through the hot months.  They do so many things to help us out, and bring a new perspective and fresh attitude to our crew.  We have been fortunate in the past few years to have some "repeaters", and they come in rarin' to go in a fun, busy, and occasionally HOT environment where they know what is expected and don't need any additional training.  For many of the kids, it is their first "real" job and we take pride in encouraging them to be responsible, inquisitive and productive members of not only our crew, but any future employment or schooling they seek. 

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LaDonna - SEMI-RETIRED!

LaDonna has now officially RETIRED...sort of!  After being on our full-time staff for 16 years, in the Spring of 2023 she transitioned to the "retired" life, and is now coming in part-time to help out wherever she's needed - phones, filing, orders, organizing, transplanting and deliveries.  Besides her time spent between the office and nursery, LaDonna has also recently retired from being a volunteer EMT with the Tekoa Ambulance after 28 years of service to our community. She spends any spare time with her dog, Blue and grandsons Zeke & Eli who live right across the street.

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Paul - RETIRED!

Paul had been with Plants of the Wild since 1996 and in April of 2021 he RETIRED after 25 years!  Paul helped many customers over his time here with us and his expertise and opinions were valued by many.  We appreciate his dedication to both the plants and customers, and know he will be missed!

Now in his unlimited free time, he spends it hiking the fields and hills around the area with his dog, Ernie, catching up with friends and checking out the offerings at the local library. Paul is an avid gardener and each year has a bounty from his vegetable garden that he shares with many.

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