The Greenhouse Effect of Snowmageddon Is Now a Distant Memory
by Dulcy Hooper
David Lohmann, owner of Abernethy and Spencer Nursery and Greenhouse in Purcellville, is no doubt delighted that spring has arrived. Even more likely, he’s more than a little relieved that winter is finally gone.
On Jan. 24, the steel girders of Abernethy and Spencer’s largest greenhouse collapsed under the weight of what would become a record-breaking snowfall. Although the greenhouse was heated, the snow fell so fast that it overwhelmed the structure. Lohmann was at his home a half-mile down the road, checking on the welfare of his five cows, when he heard a cracking sound, followed shortly after by the gut wrenching sound of the greenhouse collapsing to the ground.
Although the structure that went down was the largest greenhouse on the property, fortunately it was not one of the historic 110-year-old greenhouses that also are part of Abernethy and Spencer and survived the blizzard intact. Friends and neighbors pitched in to help move everything that could be salvaged from the collapsed greenhouse.
Three months later, a new, state-of-the-art building manufactured by a Canadian company is nearly completed. The final stages of construction are being handled by a crew from northern Ohio.
“They are doing such a fabulous job,” said Lohmann.
Fortunately, nothing has slowed down the brisk pace of business at Abernethy and Spencer. The greenhouse opened for the season on March 1, with a full inventory.
“We have 200 varieties of trees,” said Lohmann. “There are 700 varieties of perennials, 300 varieties of shrubbery, and literally thousands of annuals.”
Lehmann recently added another ten acres down the street to Abernethy and Spencer’s property.
“That’s a lot of shrubbery,” Lohmann said, pausing to offer a lollipop to a customer’s child. “Our mulch comes from only high quality yard trimmings.” Abernethy and Spencer also offers gifts and tools, organic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, “beneficial insects” and pond supplies.
Lohmann said that most of the plants are seeded right on the property and that trees are stocked “from very selected nurseries that share our vision.”
Lohmann studied ornamental horticulture at the Delaware Valley College of Science and Agriculture in Doylestown, PA., though he put his horticulture dreams on hold.
“For fifteen years, I was a dairy farmer in upstate New York,” he said, “milking 100 cows and farming a thousand acres. When I was there, there were14,000 farms; there are 6,000 now. It is, in my view, a devastating loss.”
Lohmann was visiting his sister in Reston when he saw the nursery and greenhouse, which had been empty for seven years. The old greenhouses were still there, but had taken a toll over the years.
“There was no glass in the greenhouses,” Lohmann said. “We had to put everything back together.”
For several years, the company was wholesale only.
“We now do retail as well,” he added. “I like to think that we have distinguished ourselves by the quality of what we offer and by our commitment to environmental stewardship.” Lohmann said that part of Abernethy and Spencer’s philosophy is taking care in being “green and eco-friendly. We are definitely a working greenhouse. And we are a good company. We have a good reputation.”
In fact, Abernethy and Spencer is consistently rated “Best of Loudoun.” One of the things that also sets Abernethy and Spencer apart is part of their workforce. It’s the only H2A employer in Loudoun County—a working visa program for sustainable agriculture.
“I could not ask for better employees,” Lohmann said. “They are hard-working and committed. They want to learn.”
And what about the company’s name?
“Abernethy was my mother’s maiden name,” Lohmann said. “And Spencer is on my father’s side.”
Abernethy and Spencer is one of the mid-Atlantic’s oldest greenhouses. It’s located at 18035 Lincoln Road in Purcellville. Call540-338-9118 or visit www.abernethyspencer.com or info@abernethyspencer.com.