Meet: Evelyn Kinville
  

Evelyn Kinville, manager of Behnke Nurseries’ Floral Division, is a world-class florist.

Growing up in dry, west Texas, she learned at an early age the soothing effects of plants and how fresh flowers can brighten a room. She decided to combine her love of flowers and artistic abilities in her college work, and earned a BS in horticulture from Texas Tech.

Following a stint in the Peace Corps in Bolivia, she moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where she began her floral career at Felly’s Flowers. She spent 22 years at Felly’s, managing the largest floral shop in Wisconsin. Over that time, she estimates that she designed the flowers for over 1500 weddings!

Looking for a change, she joined Hallmark to develop a pilot project to add fresh-flower offerings to the Hallmark gift stores.  Over a four year period, she coordinated the program in two test markets. She then moved to 1-800-FLOWERS, where she opened new retail stores in several states, served as product manager for fresh flowers, and as a flower stylist for many professional photography sessions. She also served as Director of Marketing for USA Floral Products during which time she worked with Martha Stewart’s team to develop packaging for MarthaStewart.com floral products.

When she visited Behnke Nurseries, she fell in love with the little flower shop at the Potomac site, and she has been Potomac’s “florist of choice” for six years. She specializes in custom work for homes and commercial venues, as well as for parties, weddings and other events. If you are looking for an experienced florist with an artist’s touch, then you should make an appointment with Evelyn. You won’t be disappointed!

Meet Larry Hurley

    
Larry, the editor of the Behnke Nurseries’ print newsletter, the Behnke GardeNews, joined Behnkes in 1984. Larry grew up in Wisconsin, where he earned a BS in Zoology and an MS in horticulture at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. During and following his schooling, he worked as a lab technician in a plant tissue culture lab, and as a houseplant expert at Felly’s Flowers.

In 1984, after a six-year stint in Dallas as inventory controller for Nortex, a large wholesale grower, Larry came to Behnkes. He spent 12 years at our former Largo, MD facility, where he alternated between our retail store and perennial production.In 1996 he moved to our administrative offices at Beltsville. In addition to his work on our newsletter, he is also the buyer for the perennial department. In this capacity, he determines which perennials Behnke Nurseries grows at our Lothian, Maryland nursery as well as which perennials we purchase from our other fine suppliers.