Resilience through catastrophe

Photos courtesy of Bedwell Gardens and Lynde Greenhouse & Nursery

From weather to human activity, there are so many ways green industry businesses can incur devastating damage.

Greenhouse Management spoke with the owner of an Iowa greenhouse who questioned if he would rebuild after a storm destroyed all five of the business’ hoophouses, as well as the fifth-generation owner of a Minnesota greenhouse who struggled with “what ifs” for years after a quarter of his family’s business was destroyed in a fire.

But ultimately, they both decided to rebuild. Here, they share what they learned from their experiences.

A tornado at Bedwell Gardens

The Bedwell family opened Bedwell Gardens in Norwalk, Iowa, in 1999. All five of the year-round business’ hoophouses were destroyed when a storm that spawned multiple tornadoes hit central Iowa in March 2022.

Emily Mills: What happened?

Kirk Bedwell: It was just a Saturday afternoon that it went from full sun to a tornado within a matter of minutes to when it was gone, it was over.

EM: What did you do first?

KB: The first thing we tried to do was save as many plants out of the greenhouses as possible because they were actually calling for a freeze that night. And since we lost the whole coverings, we had to — for the plants that we were able to salvage, which was very minimal — find places for those.

We had another business close to us, they’ve got a nursery and landscape company, and they took some of them for us, and they had a building that was heated. It wasn’t a greenhouse, but they could at least keep them from freezing for us. And then we had others that went to some local schools in their greenhouses.

We had one greenhouse, it was originally 130 feet long. We were able to salvage about 30 feet of it, so we were able to put plastic on that section so we could get our plants basically back home and then try to get an area where we could try to still do some business out of. But after that, it was cleanup, and then it was trying to basically just rebuild and planning from there and fighting with insurance and all that fun stuff. We have the same coverage under plastic, but we went to three gutter-connected ones and one large one that took the place of two.

EM: How long did the recovery take?

KB: We were actually still fixing stuff last week. And there was something that came up the other day that we realized that we don’t have anymore and we can’t find, so we’re not sure where it went or if it got lost or if the tornado took it. So, there’s just certain things that keep popping up.

EM: How did your insurance respond?

KB: They told us that we had the wrong coverages. We thought we had spoilage that was for plants that were inside that would’ve froze or anything from an outside source out of our control. And they told us the coverage we had was for a flower shop. They did cover some stuff, but very minimal. They did cover some of the contents of the greenhouses, but as far as a lot of the greenhouses and the plant content, no. We did switch companies. ... Insurance has so much fine print written into it, but I don’t know if the coverage we have is any better if we were to go through that same situation again. They say we’re in better shape, but until something actually happens and you have to use it, you don’t know.

EM: Is there anything you would have done differently?

KB: As far as the process itself, no. We had to rebuild so fast that I probably would’ve maybe redesigned the greenhouses a little differently. But for the time of year that we got hit, for us to try to be ready for the following year, we had to build fast.

EM: What lessons would you suggest other greenhouse or garden center operations learn from your experience?

KB: I just hope that nobody ever has to go through a situation like this. I know if it happened again, I wouldn’t go through it a second time. I would be done. And we even had that discussion the first time. I mean, for what it cost us to rebuild and the time that we kind of lost in sales and that sort of thing, we really thought about not even rebuilding, but we did. I think it was just more or less this is something that I started, and I guess I just decided that I was going to just continue.

It’s just a terrible thing to have to go through. And like I said, we’re still trying to do things in the greenhouses that we just haven’t had time to do because of everything, and we’re still fixing things outside that happened. So, we are three-plus years later, and we’re still recovering.

Bedwell Gardens wasn’t able to add tables to this greenhouse until 2024, two years after the storm. This greenhouse was just finished in time for planting the previous year.

A fire at Lynde Greenhouse & Nursery

Lynde Greenhouse & Nursery, a fifth-generation operation in Maple Grove, Minnesota, first started producing plants and vegetables around 1900 and began growing and selling flowers after World War I. The business moved to its current location in 1971. Fourth-generation owner Ed Lynde opened the original retail garden center in 1982; it’s now a growing space. A larger retail garden center was built in 1989, which is where customers still shop today.

Derek Lynde, the fifth-generation owner and president, grew up next door to the greenhouse. But after a fire in October 2022, Lynde had no idea if the business would continue.

Emily Mills: What happened?

Derek Lynde: In October of 2022, three juveniles snuck out of one of their homes (a neighbor) during a birthday party sleepover and trespassed onto my property. They stumbled upon an outdoor courtyard area and began playing with one of the gas cans used for our lawnmower/landscape equipment. They started a fire that got out of control, and they did not notify any authorities.

By the time I arrived at 3:30 in the morning, there were already five different fire departments on the scene doing their best to save whatever they could. We lost approximately 25% of our 4.5-acre facility, which included buildings that housed our boiler plant, workshop and tools, cooler, storage areas with all our inventory, employee break rooms and offices with personal effects, loading dock, soil handling equipment, conveyor controls, environmental controls, and all our connections for water, electricity, phone and natural gas.

EM: What did you do first?

DL: We had roughly 22,000 poinsettias on site that were already in production for winter 2022 sales. They were left in the dark as our shade curtains were closed, and we had no way to heat, cool or water them given the damage we sustained. The first priority was to save that crop.

EM: How long did the recovery take?

DL: The last on-site contractor wrapped up his work in August of 2024, 22 months after the fire. Even after that, we are still learning many nuances to the new buildings and working out controls and automation issues.

This spring, of 2025, is the first spring season we are entering since 2022 in which we have full access to our production space, automation and environmental controls. Even with those items being operational, everything is different, and we are still training ourselves on a new facility.

Today, two years and six months later, we are still not fully recovered.

EM: How did your insurance respond?

DL: Both my insurance agent and company were very attentive in the early stages. As time passed, given the lengthy process, twice the adjusters assigned to my claim moved on to new jobs, and I had to start over with someone new to the claim midstream. Clear communication and recordkeeping became issues as new adjusters became involved in the process.

EM: Is there anything you would have done differently?

DL: Everything. I can play the “what if” game for the rest of my days, but I am where I am. I could have spared myself years of stress and sleepless nights if I had just closed the business and sold the land the second the fire happened.

But as the fifth generation in my family to own and operate this company, I would’ve regretted that decision until the day I died. There’s a million different “what ifs” between that possibility and my current reality. I don’t have enough energy left to do anything but focus on the reality that I find myself in and keep fighting to stay alive.

EM: What lessons would you suggest other greenhouse or garden center operations learn from your experience?

DL: For starters, increase your limits. I got hit at the absolute worst time in my personal arc. I hired a new insurance agent right before COVID, I was appraised right around COVID, then I had a fire right as construction costs were skyrocketing, and inflation was, too. When your exposure is millions of dollars, a couple thousand in premiums could be the difference between being in business or closing your doors.

Second, don’t forget that you still have a company to run. Maybe it would’ve been too much for anyone, but I got so focused on rebuilding efforts with contractors and city officials and the insurance minutiae of tracking every single receipt and making sure we were reimbursed for it and had it coded to the correct coverage line that I lost sight of my actual job. There’s more to do related to the loss than there’s time for, but your team and your customers still need you if you plan on coming out the other side.

Don’t lose sight of what you’re doing or why you’re doing it. I got so focused on fighting with everyone and everything to stay alive that I convinced myself it was me against the world. I lost sight of why I do what I do. Did I love my industry? Did it provide a lifestyle? Is it my goal that there’s a sixth generation to follow in my footsteps? Did I feel a responsibility to provide a place for my employees to earn a living?

Everyone has their own set of questions to answer. If, God forbid, you ever find yourself in the fight of your life, make sure you’re fighting for the right reasons.

Interviews have been lightly edited for length, style and clarity. Emily Mills is digital editor of Greenhouse Management magazine. Contact her at emills@gie.net.