In the May issue of THE BEE, I shared the histories of two specialty plant nurseries – one in Sellwood, the other in Westmoreland, both of which were active in the 1920’s. Unfortunately, they were out of business by the early 1950’s, and other more recent ones have also vanished from the immediate neighborhood.
However, a friend recently alerted me that a nursery in the Richmond neighborhood just north of Powell Boulevard succeeded in reaching the century mark on April 30th. It’s the Van Veen Nursery, it specializes in azaleas and rhododendrons, and it can still be found at its original address – 4201 S.E. Franklin Street.
Its location in a leafy residential neighborhood is remarkable. On its eastern edge, across S.E. 43rd Avenue, is the Loyola Jesuit Center, and St. Ignatius Catholic Church. Together, the two religious properties total more than ten acres, with the retreat center shaded by tall, old cedars. The nursery itself, with its own large trees, was established in 1926 on its 4.5-acre site by Dutch emigrant Theodore Van Veen. After his death in 1961, the business continued under his son Ted, and later by Ted’s daughter Kathy…