Open House History!

Since 1964 Skillin’s has hosted our very special Spring Open Houses. John and Dave Skillin developed this tradition after several visits to the then Boston Flower Show. Our first experience with the Boston Flower Show was in 1930 when Pa Skillin and his daughter Florence entered a display with a miniature model greenhouse and Pa’s famous Skillin’s raised Calla lilies. We still proudly display a picture of Florence with that miniature greenhouse and that very same model greenhouse at our store today .

There had been other driving factors for the creation of our own Skillin’s flower show. Up until about this time Porteous (for those of you that might remember Porteous and its famous downtown department store) had each year done a flower show in their store that was the highlight of year. Magnificent floral displays filled their entire store front windows and as I remember it also filled their store. I wonder if anyone besides me remembers the Porteous carved wooden bear chair?

Also as they say the winter months were getting pretty long in the tooth and John and Dave needed to find a way to help sell the flowers left over after several snowed out Valentine’s Day. They say necessity is the mother of invention--well long cold winters were the invention of our first Spring Open House.

Presidents weekend or George Washington’s Birthday was picked for our first two-day weekend event. It was after Valentines so if we needed we to had that one last chance to sell beautiful fresh cut flowers left over. It also gave the Skillin’s people time to force into bloom great lilacs, rhododendrons, tulip and jonquils and all the plants that we dream about for Spring. However a funny thing happened with this two-day event safety valv-- it snowed. It snowed like it was the last snow to ever fall, not just one year but several in a row. It snowed and snowed and snowed. These storms of epic proportions have made for years of conversations and laughter with many of our closest gardening friends who braved the elements to see this wonderful Flower Show.

1964 was also the year that we redeveloped the greenhouse that we now call the Mill House from a production style green house into a tropical houseplant display and sales greenhouse. Of course the Mill House featured a country style millhouse with a working water wheel and pond that for years through the 1970’s was part of our company’s logo.

Now in 2008 after all these years this greenhouse is just now getting a much needed facelift that we hope will be completed by this year’s 44th annual Skillin’s Spring Open House here in Falmouth. Over these last 44 years of our Open Houses we have seen plenty of spectacular events with guest speakers, discussed new innovative ideas for gardening and met lots of new and first time gardeners.

One of my favorite memories will always be during any one of our Open House events when just when the crowds peaked and we were all elbow to elbow in excitement; amid the hum of several hundred gardening conversations my father John Skillin would say “ Boy, I think this would be a good place to start a garden center”. Then he would laugh and disappear into the happy crowd.

This event has been a long tradition for Skillin’s and over these last 44 years of Open Houses this event has brought thousands of visitors in to dare and dream about Spring. Sometimes I wonder how we all made it through winter for 79 years before our first Open House. Skillin’s has been in business for 123 years and in one way or another celebrating Spring has always been our goal.

Terry Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
February 11, 2008