links to other articles to help integrate it into the encyclopedia . please help improve this article by adding links that are relevant to the context within the existing text . february 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message this article does not cite any sources . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . february 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . october 2009 learn how and when to remove this template message park seed company industry mail order gardening founded 1868 libonia pennsylvania usa headquarters greenwood south carolina usa products seeds plants garden art and accessories website www.parkseed.com park seed company is one of america s oldest and largest mail order seed companies based in greenwood south carolina . park seed specializes in garden seeds offering more than 1 100 varieties of flower vegetable and herb seeds plus a large selection of bulbs live plants and gardening accessories . park seed company distributes millions of catalogs every year and maintains an online retail presence . park seed is a division of jackson & perkins park acquisitions which is a subsidiary of publicly traded western capital resources . contents 1 history 2 see also 3 references 4 external links history edit park seed company got its start in 1868 when 15 year old george watt park decided to sell seeds he had harvested from his backyard garden in libonia pennsylvania . park bought a hand press and printed a list of the seeds that he wanted to sell . in addition to circulating this list to friends and neighbors he also bought an advertisement in the rural american for 3.50 . the ad resulted in 6.50 in seed orders . with this success park found his life s work . the cover of the january 1900 park s floral magazine features a portrait of the founder george watt park . from park seed company archives . park seed company published its first small catalog in 1868 . the book contained just 8 pages and used 2 illustrations wood cuts of an aster and a pansy . in 1871 park seed initiated a monthly publication called the floral gazette . the publication was more magazine than catalog and offered its readers a forum for sharing gardening experiences and a seed exchange column that encouraged readers to trade seeds bulbs and plants . it also carried a significant amount of advertising including ads from other purveyors of seed . by 1877 the name had changed to park s floral magazine and circulation had grown to 20 000 . by 1918 that figure hit 800 000 . the growing number of catalogs brought in increasing numbers of orders and by 1900 it was clear that the business had outgrown the small post office at libonia . park seed company moved to la park now paradise pennsylvania in 1902 . in 1918 park married carol mary barratt a young county home demonstration agent from south carolina . barrat park moved to la park and became both a partner in the business and the mother of two sons george barratt park and william john park . eventually the park family moved to dunedin florida and produced a catalog there in 1923 . unfortunately while the family enjoyed florida the heat and humidity proved to be highly unsuitable for storing seeds . in looking for a better environment for the business they settled on mary s hometown of greenwood south carolina and moved the business there in 1924 . for the first 25 years in greenwood park seed company occupied a large old house . then in 1950 they made a move to a more modern storefront location and entered the era of environmental control for seed quality . eventually park seed obtained 500 acres 2 km on the northern edge of greenwood and designed and built there a total business complex to house the company s offices research facilities seed storage and processing areas temperature controlled areas for storing plants and bulbs computer facilities mailorder department and customer service facility plus its catalog preparation area and a showroom and reception area for its growing wholesale division . the core buildings of this campus were completed in 1961 . the company resides there today continually expanding and renewing the complex to meet changing requirements . in 1975 wayside gardens a mail order company in mentor ohio came on the market and was acquired by park seed . wayside gardens product line of perennials bulbs trees and shrubs was a good complement to park seed company s seeds . wayside gardens was moved to the greenwood sc facility . the park family ran the company until 2005 when it was sold to florida real estate executive donald hachenberger . the company has been bought and sold since and is now a division of jackson & perkins park acquisitions which is a subsidiary of publicly traded western capital resources . jackson & perkins park acquisitions encompasses three garden brands park seed jackson & perkins and wayside gardens . see also edit george watt park all america selections references edit park seed company archives external links edit www.parkseed.com retail site park seed journal blog www.waysidegardens.com retail site wayside gardens voices blog www.jacksonandperkins.com retail site jackson & perkins blog blog retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title park seed company & oldid 737035289 categories mail order retailerscompanies based in south carolinacompanies established in 1868privately held companies based in south carolinaseed companieshidden categories articles with too few wikilinks from february 2016all articles with too few wikilinksarticles covered by wikiproject wikify from february 2016all articles covered by wikiproject wikifyarticles lacking sources from february 2016all articles lacking 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