WARMINSTER, Pa. (WPVI) — For generations of home gardeners, Burpee has been a familiar name associated with seeds for vegetables, flowers and herbs.<\/p>\n
The Pennsylvania-rooted company is celebrating 150 years of history while continuing operations from its longtime Bucks County home.<\/p>\n
Burpee owner George Ball said the company’s broad appeal has helped make it one of the country’s best-known seed brands.<\/p>\n
“We aren’t in any niche. We aren’t in any fashionable part. We’re everything. You can find niche products here. You can find fashionable products here. You can find everything here at Burpee, and that’s one of the big reasons that we’re such a well-known seed company,” Ball said.<\/p>\n
The company’s origins date to 1876, when founder W. Atlee Burpee attended the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park at age 18.<\/p>\n
“And, so he became really impressed with how good it was to get seeds out into America, because a lot of the seeds were coming from Europe at the high latitudes,” Ball said.<\/p>\n
Ball said Burpee later identified a need for seeds better suited to growing conditions in the United States.<\/p>\n
“And so he found that farmers were struggling with the European seeds. So he developed the first real catalog of American seeds, of American adapted seeds. And that was how we became a household name,” Ball said.<\/p>\n
As demand grew, Burpee established the Fordhook Farm in Doylestown after the founder began traveling to Europe to collect seeds that would be adapted for North American climates.<\/p>\n
The farm was described as likely the first experimental test field station in the United States.<\/p>\n
Today, the company ships seeds across the country.<\/p>\n
“We sell billions of seeds. It depends on, you know, a seed is as different as the plant it’s from. So you have tiny seeds, you have big seeds, and we all do them,” Ball said.<\/p>\n
The company is also restoring its historic seed house.<\/p>\n
Jason, who has worked on the restoration, said the effort began last year and has progressed floor by floor through the building.<\/p>\n
“Started last year, basically in the basement, and then got everything up and level and then worked on the first floor, second floor, third floor. And now we’re doing the finishing touches up on the bell tower,” Jason said.<\/p>\n
Jason said preserving the building’s character has been a priority.<\/p>\n
“I tried really hard not to change a lot,” Jason said.<\/p>\n
He added that the structure’s history makes the project significant to the company.<\/p>\n
“The restoration is important to the company itself, because this is where basically it started,” Jason said.<\/p>\n
As Burpee celebrates its 150th anniversary, company leaders say they remain proud of their connection to the Doylestown community and the company’s long-standing Pennsylvania roots.<\/p>\n
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