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Prchal an emerald in the desert
Robin Prchal manages Emerald Desert Nursery in Quincy, but it’s her landscape design work that keeps her busy most days.
The nursery, in business since 1999, operates on a wholesale level, shipping home-grown products all over North Central Washington. “We do our own growing, from bare-root perennials to Oriental grasses,” she said.
Prchal and her husband, David, bought a 20-acre lot soon after moving to Quincy in 1988. They leased a portion of the extra land to Twin Firs Turf, but Prchal knew that eventually she’d like to do something with the land for herself.
Using the marketing and business knowledge she acquired as a student at Washington State University, Prchal took advantage of an opportunity.
“My husband’s sister lives in Gresham, Ore., and that’s where a hub of wholesale nurseries are,” Prchal said. “We realized that there was nothing like that in this area. We did a lot of research and found that there was nowhere local landscapers and contractors could go to draw from at a wholesale level. We visited with some consultants, got it going and every year it’s been going forward.”
Prchal got involved in the landscape design aspect of the job almost by accident.
“I had knowledge of the trees and learned what grows well and what works together,” she said. “I’ve always had a good eye for design, and pretty soon people were asking me to draw designs. It blossomed from there into a business of its own. It keeps me from managing the nursery, which can be frustrating, but I guess it’s a good problem to have.”
Prchal enjoys her work for a variety of reasons.
“I love the fact that plants bring people a lot of joy,” she said. “It’s pretty fulfilling. Plus, I’ve always been a people person. The people who I work with are real genuine, salt-of-the-earth people. I haven’t had any bad experiences with people in gardening.”
Prchal was raised in Moses Lake until her family moved to Quincy when she was a sophomore in high school. She graduated from Quincy High School and after graduating from Washington State lived in Portland for a time before moving back to Quincy with David.
“I love the weather here, and I love the people,” she said. “I really appreciate the small-town atmosphere. I lived in the big city for awhile, and I enjoyed the amenities of a bigger city, but I liked the country life better.”
Prchal also keeps herself plenty busy keeping up with the various activities of her two boys — Dustin, a sophomore at Quincy High School, and Sean, a seventh-grader at Quincy Junior High School.
In her spare time, she also enjoys snowboarding, hiking, riding all-terrain vehicles and visiting the Oregon coast.
Kelly commented, on May 7, 2010 at 10:55 a.m.:
Way to go Robin! This is an awesome article. I can definitely say, Robin is the best when it comes to designing and knowledge of the plants and trees that do best in the area. She is amazing!
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