Hardware store greenhouse something different in city

Filled with a variety of flowers and plants, Hey Everything added a greenhouse next to the hardware store on Cornell’s Main Street. The greenhouse is open seven days a week, until the plants are sold out for the season. Photo by Ginna Young

By Ginna Young

It lives up to its name – Hey Everything – as a hardware store on Cornell’s Main Street, but this spring, owner Mark Naas expanded the offerings even more. After purchasing the lot next door to the store (to the west), Naas excavated the area and constructed a greenhouse, after getting the idea from his parents, who own a similar setup at their Bloomer hardware store.

“It was pretty popular,” said Naas.

While the normal flowers can be found in the greenhouse, such as petunias, pansies, impatiens and geraniums, there is also a large variety of other flowers, including, but not limited to ageratum, calendula, fushia, lobelia, salvia, sedum, verbena, daisies, begonias, dahlias and lantana. There are also succulents, hanging baskets, onion sets and seeds available, as well as tomatoes, peppers and herbs.

All other gardening supplies are kept in the main store, making it a true plant paradise in the greenhouse.

“We’ve been doing it enough years now…you know what people are looking for,” said Naas.

With good luck and pricing from the suppliers his parents use, Naas went the same route and stocked up so much, he had to build another greenhouse in back of the store to set up as storage. It could be a good thing, as the greenhouse has been busy since it opened the end of April, although Naas says crowds vary with the weather.

The greenhouse is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, and will remain that way until plants are sold out for the year. There is a card system set up in the greenhouse, if people don’t want to pay cash, and if a business or church has an account, they can charge the flowers.

Naas says he was pleased how quickly everything came together and that people seem to like having the greenhouse in the city.

“It’s just something that adds to the hardware store and it’s convenient for people that live here.”