Verle Lessig, 1947-2000
by Mary Ann Leigh

ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED: 2000 Summer

When I first met Verle Lessig about fifteen years ago, he and his business partner, Peter McBride, had just bought a garden center called The Fertile Delta on Lincoln Avenue in Chicago. The lot was crawling with blue spruces, white pines, potentillas, and spireas. Not particularly inspiring for them or me. My husband, Ted, and I had just purchased a 160 acre farm in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, and, after living three flights up in a Chicago condo, this girl needed a garden.

Garden magazines had recently printed several articles about some strange trees--conifers that weren't evergreen and some beeches that were purple or multicolored. That's what I was looking for: weird stuff. Verle got that twinkle in his eye and said that they were looking into getting some of the more unusual trees and shrubs. This was music to my ears and perhaps the understatement of the century, especially after other very well-known large garden centers had told me flat out that they wouldn't carry stuff like that because there was no demand for them, in spite of the fact that I was standing right there, demanding.

Verle was at the opposite end of the spectrum. He loved the gardener looking for the unusual plants. On days when he wasn't up to his eyeballs in work, we would head upstairs to his office and look at pictures in books and magazines of plants I had envisioned only in dreams, and then he'd grin and say, "Well, I have three six-footers on order." Puff. Puff. Then we'd look at more of the twisted sisters--plants contorted, pendulous, weeping, variegated, purple or golden leafed, splotchy or blotchy. I always hoped my drooling wasn't too obvious.

He loved touring people through the lot to show them what had just come in. On more than one occasion we stood together in wonder watching the forklifts slide magical trees out of the back of an open semi, usually one of several lined up waiting to unload their treasures. The word "Mine!" often accompanied the thrill of buying something before its roots had even touched the ground. Once Verle even made me leave an enormous contorted Larix 'Diana' at the shop for two weeks to tease and torture those less fortunate who weren't there for the unveiling. It also assured that they would be there more often to not miss the next great find; and there was always another.

Verle loved hunting for new plants. Trips were made to Oregon, Washington, and everywhere else in the country to visit the best wholesalers and select the very best of what they had for The Fertile Delta. His file cabinets were crammed with fabulous plant lists and catalogs from huge sellers and tiny specialty nurseries. They all knew and respected his quest, and thus, he, in turn, treated Chicago gardeners to the opportunity of seeing and owning the newest and most fantastic of plants.

He loved expanding the horizons of his clients. Verle would often start a walk through the lot with, "Ever see one of these?" Then he'd smile and give me plenty of time to figure out that I had no clue. After laughing that "Gotcha" laugh, he'd tell me more information about the plant than I could absorb. I'd remember what I could, jot some notes down as fast as possible and then go home and do my homework. Verle always sent me home smarter and more inspired that I had been when I arrived.

He loved selling the right plants to the right people. As soon as Verle knew the kinds of plants I was after, he suggested only what would work in my gardens. He had the uncanny ability to remember what I had already purchased and would always ask how well specific plants were doing. He knew that with just a little encouragement he could convince me to try something really new and very strange, and he was always right.

He loved gardening and set a terrific example. The garden that he designed for his own back yard was the most creative, unique, and unusual use of plant material and space imaginable. Take a typical Chicago lot. Add berms, boulders, a pond, a path, a small stream, a waterfall, and a fascinating array of plants. Pass go, collect $200, and go directly to an article in Fine Gardening magazine.

I loved my visits to The Fertile Delta. Inevitably the day I could be there was the most miserable, rainy, windy day. Verle and I would bundle up, he'd grab cigarettes and "Sold" tags, and out we'd go. Sometimes it took hours to poke around and get everything schlepped to the street. Once, after we got my collection out to the curb, the guys that were going to load looked at my van, then looked at what was supposed to go in it, and then said, "No way!" Well, what they didn't know was that when Verle supervised van loading, vans became bottomless. In fact, no matter how much we loaded, we always found room for a few "maybe's." Every time I drove away after a buying binge, my first thought was always, "Thank heaven for heavy duty shock absorbers and good tires."

In 1993, when my habit became so large that I needed to start dealing to support it, I spent a great deal of time talking to Verle. He was generous with his advice, helpful with ideas, and very supportive with his encouragement. After opening Timber Ridge Gardens, a display garden and nursery at our farm outside of Elizabeth, Illinois, Verle and I continued to be gardening buddies. We'd talk often on the phone and visit during the off season.

So many lives were influenced by Verle's knowledge and enthusiasm. As I am writing this tribute, taking phone calls, and making fresh cups of tea, I keep looking out the windows at the gardens around our home. Each direction I look takes by eye to a plant from Verle and The Fertile Delta. Each tree, shrub, and perennial has a story to tell, a memory of the find, and a delight in the plant's success.

And that is the real story of gardening. Each plant creates a memory. And it is the memories that make the garden. Along with the silence and solitude of tending our gardens is the remembrance of each source, each story, each trip, each victory, each struggle, and each inspiration. The inspiration of Verle Lessig is one that many gardens and their gardeners will treasure forever.

Mary Ann Leigh and her husband, Ted Loberg, sell plants and design gardens. Their incredible nursery and its many display gardens is called Timber Ridge Nursery and is located in Elizabeth, Illinois (near Galena). See their classified ad in the back of The Weedpatch Gazette, or call (815) 858-3740.

(TOP OF PAGE)