Business Profile: One Seed at a Time, Putnam Valley
Kathy Vanhorn-Powderly and husband Kevin Powderly were married a year when they started One Seed at a Time this past May outside a local hardware store in Putnam Valley.
“We were selling right outside Oregon Hardware Store,” Mrs. Vanhorn-Powderly said. “We were selling flowers, and hanging baskets, and plants. And then we transitioned up to Poughkeepsie at a new indoor marketplace called the Hudson Valley Marketplace.”
“We were mainly up in Poughkeepsie,” Mrs. Vanhorn-Powderly said. “And just started to transition back to Putnam Valley with this storefront, in October was when we obtained it, and it took us a month to get it together and opened. We were still up in Poughkeepsie up until this past weekend. We let go of out vendor status there. Now we’re exclusively down in Putnam Valley.
“The community here has been very supportive of the business.”
For Mrs. Vanhorn-Powderly, growing and tending to plants has, “always been an interest of mine. Even growing up in the Bronx I was considered the country person, I was always looking for a blade of grass in the city. You know, the one flower that may pop up. I’ve always had an interest in nature.”
Mr. Powderly brought relevant retail experience.
“I ran supermarkets for a long time,” Mr. Powderly said. “I was in charge of floral, and produce, and all perishable departments. I supervised those departments so I knew a good deal about having outside plants.”
The benefits of growing plants are both varied and profound.
“Number one is just the look,” Mrs.Vanhorn-Powderly said. “The natural effect that it has on any environment you bring them into. It’s good for the air quality. They tend to have a calming effect. It’s great for even children to start off with plants. It teaches them nurturing, and caring, and responsibility.”
It also tastes better.
“Last year I made up little planters of assorted herbs just where you can have it in your kitchen,” Mrs. Vanhorn-Powderly said. “There’s nothing better than having fresh herbs and even fresh vegetables…. there’s nothing like fresh vegetables during their season. Especially tomatoes. The taste is definitely notable.”
Plants offer choices of difficulty as well, some being more suitable to beginners.
“The snake plant is one of the easiest ones to deal with,” Mrs. Vahorn-Powderly said. “They’re more hardy. You don’t need to give it a lot of care. You can go for a while without watering them before they actually die as opposed to a fern plant which will need a little more TLC.”
Although winter is not normally associated with gardening, it is a time people can prepare for the coming spring.
“They can start indoor seeds,” Mrs. Vanhorn-Powderly said. “[The plants] will have some stability by the time the weather breaks and you plant them in the ground. As far as the indoor plants, with the heat you just want to keep them hydrated. You don’t want them to dry out. Giving them proper sun which, depending on the location of the windows where you keep the plants, can be critical.”
Along with plants and flowers, they sell greeting cards, candles, incense, hanging garden ironwork, and unusual gifts, such as bonsai trees.
“We guarantee our bonsai trees,” Mrs. Vanhown-Powderly said. “The gentleman that we buy from, his number is sent along with each tree so if the owner has any problems or questions they can call him directly.”
One Seed at a Time is located at 5 Oscawana Lake Road, Putnam Valley, (845) 603-6619.
By Larry Miles
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.