Lawyer Nursery celebrates 55 years of business in Sanders County

PLAINS – For 55 years Lawyer Nursery has been growing plants in Plains, selling their product around the nation and in countries across the world. 

Founded by David Lawyer and his wife Esther in 1959, the nursery is still going strong in 2014, with their son John serving as the current president and chief executive officer of the company. 

In Plains, the nursery produces deciduous seedlings, meaning the plants are raised from seeds and not cut and shipped, transplants, rootstocks, shrubs and conifers.

The nursery also buys and sells seeds, selling them to other wholesale nurseries around the nation. 

“We buy wild crafted fruit seeds from Libby, MT and other seeds from collectors all over the United States and we commercialize it,” John Lawyer said. 

This includes exporting seeds across the globe. 

“We sell a lot of seed to western Europe, Canada, Japan, South Korea and eastern Europe, just to name a few,” Lawyer said. 

In 1988, Lawyer Nursery expanded to a facility in Olympia, Washington, where conifer and deciduous seedlings are grown, in addition to species not suited to the soil and climate of Montana. 

Lawyer noted that over the years, especially after the 2008 recession, production has shifted west with, 85 percent of production occurring at the Lawyer Nursery facility in Olympia.

Nevertheless, the nursery still brings in a sizeable amount of capital into Sanders County, with its facilities on the edge of town at Diehl Ranch and its main office and warehouses on Highway 200, north of downtown Plains. 

“Lawyer Nursery brings fresh money into the state, as opposed to re-circulating it,” Lawyer said. 

Moreover, Lawyer Nursery has been employing individuals in the area for years, with several employees who have stayed on for decades.

“I am very appreciative of their loyalty,” Lawyer said. 

One of the long-term employees, Ken McGann started at the nursery in 1977, and has been there longer than John. 

Originally from New Jersey, McGann went to school at the University of Regina in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, to become a pastor before, then moving to eastern Montana and eventually to Plains.

Over the years McGann has done a number of jobs for the nursery. 

“I have done everything from working in the grating warehouse, to on the road work, and most of the last 30 years in the seed house,” said McGann. 

McGann mentioned his long history of taking care of plants, which led him to his job with Lawyer Nursery. 

“I have been raising something since I was seven, mostly vegetables,” McGann said, also mentioning African violets and bonsai trees. 

McGann was also quick to point out the length in which many other employees stay at the nursery. 

“A lot of people have been at the nursery for around 20 years,” McGann said. 

Nursery Sales Manager, Michael Johnson is one of those employees.

Growing up in southern California Johnson first became interested in horticulture in high school, was part of an Future Farmers of America program and his interest in the industry drew from there. He joined Lawyer Nursery in 1991. 

Johnson briefly went over how the nursery decides to grow what they do each season. 

“The nursery experiments with new varieties depending upon seed availability, we have staple items we produce every year, and a range of plant materials we produce on speculation,” Johnson said. 

Don Westefer, a relative newcomer to the Lawyer    Nursery family came to Montana in January of 2006 and currently manages the nursery in Plains, spending a great deal of his time at Diehl Ranch just outside of town.  

A portion of Westefer’s time is spent keeping the nursery clear of weeds, enabling their products to grow uninhibited. 

“The weeds will eat you alive if you don’t stay on top of them,” Westefer said.

Lawyer Nursery will host its annual retail plant sale from Saturday, May 24, to Monday, May 26 at their Highway 200 facilities.