L-R Owner Tracy Rogers and Chris Periot, manager

Country Nursery and Gardens is sought after for its organically certified plants, while Rodgers Landscaping — the landscaping and maintenance division — is in demand for higher end home projects as well as commercial work. The business has seen its best year in 2006 — a significant feat considering that just a few years ago, owner Tracy Rodgers had to just about rebuild the entire company.

Rodgers talks candidly about the tumultuous years, starting in 1999, after her now former husband, Robin, left the business he started in 1975 as a landscaper.

“The first five years (after he left) were extremely hard, and at the start of the sixth year we started feeling like we were back on track,” she said.

Rodgers recalls breaking into tears when she asked him the day he left what will happen with their 40 employees, and he said to just close the business. “It was a turning point for me, I decided we had to do it (continue on),” she said. “It’s been many peaks and valleys.”

Rodgers forged ahead, and kept on even as she realized the business was in financial trouble. “It never occurred to me not to try,” she said. Not paying attention to the gossip, she started by moving the landscaping division from Poulsbo to the Bremerton site next to the nursery, which has been open since 1991. The nursery concept was changed, along with the marketing strategy, and one of her biggest goals was to change the company culture and close the rift between its three divisions.

“She had a huge job ahead of her,” said Chris Periot, nursery manager. “She’s very business savvy.”

Rodgers said they dug their heels in deep, and as much as she was tempted to give up, she couldn’t let her employees down. Now, she has surrounded herself with a good management team that allows her to be less hands-off, and employees who believe in teamwork and “have the company’s best interests at heart.” Employees are expected to work hard — any one person may do anything from customer service to janitorial — and in exchange, Rodgers said she tries to reward them financially as much as she can.

“I can’t say enough about my employees,” she said. “I’m sincere when I say my business would be nothing without my employees.”

Rodgers also credits her faith, and “the man upstairs” with guiding her through tough times. She also had to prioritize. For example, the gift shop, which opened just before her husband left, had to be put on the back burner and kept small. And she had to rebuild her customer base.

“Our reputation suffered at first, but we have completely overcome that,” Periot said.

The business has seen a turnaround, and word of mouth continues to spread. The grounds are continuously improved, the nursery is one of only two in Kitsap to sell certified organic plants, which are growing in demand, and the gift shop is not only filled with all sorts of home and garden décor items, it is running out of room (again). Rodgers is in the process of creating a business plan, which will allow her to move the administrative offices from the “White House” building to the second floor of the gift shop, so she can expand her selection and offer furnishings.

These days, her challenges are focused on expanding the business and finding new qualified employees who believe in her philosophy that employees must care not only about customers, but also about each other.

Being able to offer plants, landscaping and maintenance under one roof is an advantage. The landscaping division, which Rodgers admits can be challenging because she’s a woman owner “in a man’s world, is also on a successful path. Rodgers Landscaping serves residential and commercial customers in Kitsap, Mason, Jefferson and Clallam counties. One of their biggest recent contracts was landscaping the Costco site in Sequim.

“Our customer base has grown — we’ve established a name for ourselves,” she said. “The people are coming back, and it’s because of our customer service.”

Some people, though, are coming just to see Felix and Fritz, who even have their own “plant club card” for customers who make frequent purchases. “People absolutely love these guys,” Rodgers said.

Anyone looking for plants that were grown without synthetic chemicals or the weed-and-feed variety will find a nice selection of evergreen and deciduous shrubs, annuals and perennial at Country Nursery and Gardens. They can hire staff to come to their property for a two-hour consultation, but on a slow sales day employees will happily oblige customers with an on-the spot one-on-one session. And for those who want to visit the furry twins — well, Fritz may be hard to catch but Felix can often be found sleeping in a basket on the gift shop counter, helping customers feel just like at home.