Published: June 2, 2007

By YVETTE SAARINEN
Of the News-Register

Baseball and flower baskets go hand-in-hand in the creative mind of Melissa McLaughlin of rural McMinnville.

Next week, she and her crew at Country Garden Nursery, 6275 N.E. Poverty Bend Road, will ship 72 unique 24-inch flower baskets to the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. The city's public works department plans to hang the baskets along the six city blocks leading to Willie Mays Plaza, the public entrance to the stadium, and to keep them hand-watered through the blooming season.

McLaughlin won the contract after the Giants earned the right to host this year's All-Star Game. The July 10 game pits all-stars from the two rival leagues, highlighting a three-day menu of activities.

The predominant hues in the baskets, of course, are orange and black, the Giants' official colors. White and green are used for accent.

It was difficult to find plants that would bloom in the right colors, McLaughlin said, let alone thrive in San Francisco's cool, marine climate.

"It was really a challenge to get plants for a very narrow color scheme," McLaughlin said. She settled on orange impatiens and geraniums, dark coleus and Black Heart, a trailing sweet potato vine and a white fanflower, among others.

She purchased the plants in plugs from a licensed breeder, then grew them to finished stage in her own greenhouses on a 50-acre farm she has owned with her husband, Joe, since 1989.

McLaughlin's grower, John Neeway, makes sure the plants look like what she had envisioned.

"It's work but it's a lot of fun, too," McLaughlin said. "It's creating beauty and sharing it with the world."

McLaughlin employs four people year-round and another eight seasonally, and she said the extra work kept them all busy. Each basket required an hour of labor, she said.

The foundation of the basket is a wire frame the McLaughlins designed themselves and had a shop fabricate to their specs. A burlap bed holds the soil in place and tree moss discourages evaporation.

Four hangers fit into a loop from which the baskets will be suspended on decorative poles.

The couple also designed the shipping boxes that protect the baskets along their journey. In trial-and-error mode, they tested prototypes by actually shipping plants to friends and relatives.

McLaughlin delivers plants locally in a 14-foot box van. Plants bound for more distant destinations are shipped commercially.

McLaughlin is renowned locally for supplying the 24-inch flower baskets that may be encountered on nearly every street in McMinnville's business community. She produced at least 150 of the larger baskets, and even more of the 16-inch versions, that adorn poles around Yamhill County.

What locals may not know is that her skills are gaining a big following in California. In fact, most of her company's growth is coming from San Francisco, where Mayor Gavin Newsom is a vocal fan.

It was a quirk of fate that introduced Newsom to McLaughlin's work.

Former Yamhill resident Carolyn Larsen moved to Corta Madera in Marin County and became mayor there. When the city launched a beautification movement, she recalled McLaughlin's gorgeous flower baskets and convinced city leaders to incorporate them.

The baskets soon began drawing attention from surrounding cities, including San Francisco. And they were visible in background shots used in a recent episode of Donald Trump's "The Apprentice," shot partially at an eye-catching shopping center in Beverly Hills.

Ninety percent of Country Garden's business comes from repeat customers. She just hired someone to handle Northwest clients, fearing the southern growth spurt might be making them feel neglected.

"A big part of it is maintaining relationships," she said. "We appreciate our loyal customer base."

McLaughlin, red-haired and freckled, displays the fresh good looks of someone who flourishes outdoors. What's more, she imbues the workplace with her creativity and cooperative spirit. She relishes problem-solving and she keeps the job fun.

She launched the business in 1992, and hanging baskets soon became her specialty.

"As the nursery grows and the team gets bigger, I encourage employees to manage their own responsibilities," she said. "You can get the work done with or without stress.

"When you own your own business, there are not many perks. You try to find and use the ones you can."

For more information, call 503-472-1351.