By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

WEST CHESTER, Ohio — Mike and Naomi Watkins of West Chester have seen their greenhouse business survive many hardships. The Ohio couple’s business survived the blizzard of 1978 and, with children Shannon, Jason and Matt, worked their way through countless wet springs.
Most importantly, this third-generation greenhouse facility has survived in Butler County, which has seen many businesses come and go.
“Granddad had no competition back then, but there’s so much more competition nowadays,” said Shannon, the couple’s only daughter. “We’re surrounded by lots of competition, like Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Natorp’s and others. But, people come back because our plants last.”
Butler’s Better Blooms is one of the oldest businesses of its kind in the county. At one time there were no discount stores and gardening shops, and certainly no homes to be seen.
Urban sprawl has changed all that. Today, Butler’s Better Blooms is dwarfed by other businesses and housing developments.
This established, well-known family business grew out of a handshake. In 1956, Mike’s parents, Mose and Wilma Jean Watkins, were employees of a greenhouse in Rochester, Mich., and were making the drive from there to their parents’ homes in Kentucky.
State Route 42 was the main road from Michigan to Kentucky at that time. Mose spotted a small, one-Quonset hut greenhouse in West Chester and made the owner an offer. The 1,800-square-foot greenhouse was his on a handshake (and, of course, $18,000).
Mose’s first venture in that one small structure was selling trees. An existing nursery across the street was selling produce at the time. But, when his neighboring business stopped selling that and started selling trees, Mose decided to sell plants.
Today, there are 12 large greenhouse structures on the 3.5 acres.
“Flowers are our mainstay,” Shannon said. “We do have some fruits and vegetables, but not many. In the fall we have the pumpkins and poinsettias, and in the winter we sell firewood. We’re busy year-round.”
And while this family venture has survived the man-made competition, Mike eyes their real competition – Mother Nature.
“Nature is our worst enemy,” Mike said. “If you have a crop that’s ready the first of May and you get two weeks of rainy weather, no one can plant and they’ll just dump their crop. May is our bread and butter.
“Our second enemy is the regulations in this business. We have to continuously document any kind of chemical we use on our plants and equipment. And it’ll get even worse for us here in the Midwest. In California, they’re already being required to collect their runoff.”
The couple also have two sons, Jason and Matt. Their hope is that one of the three children will continue the greenhouse business.
“It’s theirs if they want it, but I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes,” Mike said.
But, for the present time, it’s on the shoulders of him and Naomi. “I would only give this up if I knew I could make a decent living, working just 40 hours a week,” said Mike, 58. “Last year, I averaged working 84 hours per week.”