N.J. Nursery Owner Named National Grower of the Year

Ed Overdevest headed to Vail, Colo., last week under the impression that he would be speaking at a convention about immigration reform.

Little did he know that he was the beneficiary of a well-formulated plan to get him to Vail where he would not actually be speaking at all.

Well, at least not until he stood up for his acceptance speech.

Overdevest was awarded the coveted 2006 Nursery Management and Production Nursery Grower of the Year award Saturday.

The NMPRO Nursery Grower of the Year award is a national accolade that is presented to candidates who have made outstanding contributions to the green industry, according to David Wilson, director of marketing at Overdevest.

"It's a huge national award, and he knows absolutely nothing about it," Wilson said Friday when he revealed that Overdevest had won. "The top movers and shakers in the business across the country selected and voted for him."

Overdevest is the president and owner of Overdevest Nurseries in Bridgeton, N.J., and has been working in a nursery all of his life, according to Wilson.

Overdevest's parents started the nursery in 1952. He inherited the nursery from them.

Today, he operates the nursery with his wife and business partner, Gail, and the company produces 1400 varieties of shrubs, trees, vines and perennials, grown on 210 acres.

The Overdevests' clients include independent garden centers and distributors within a 300-mile radius of Bridgeton.

One buyer, James McArdle, of McArdle's Florist and Garden Center in Greenwich, Conn., has been purchasing perennials, shrubs and trees from Overdevest for nearly 10 years.

McArdle had nothing but praise for the man whose philosophy he says is "organization.

"I would consider (Overdevest), all in all, our best grower," he says. "I buy from over 100 growers in this country alone, and his standards are just amazing."

McArdle adds that he feels Overdevest is "committed to excellence.

"If there is such a thing as a perfect plant, then Ed Overdevest grows it," he concludes.

A ceremony was planned by over 80 of Overdevest's employees.