Bonnie Murphy, longtime owner of Bonnie’s Greenhouse on Orchard Lane, stands amid her oldest day lily and rose beds.

Bonnie Murphy has an open, candid gaze, a plain way of speaking and a friendly, direct manner. There seems to be no pretense about her. She exudes honesty and has a successful business to show for it. Bonnie’s Greenhouse is one of the nurseries in Waco where serious gardeners shop, knowing that the plants purchased there will thrive in the local climate. 

They know they’ll receive expert advice from the people working there. The nursery is located on an acre, together with the house where the Murphys raised two sons, and a small private yard. The rest of the property is devoted to two huge greenhouses and five big cold frames. There’s also a large rose garden and flower beds that are constantly in bloom. 

It’s a place where gardeners may find themselves spending more time than they had intended, because it’s endlessly changing and a fascinating place to wander for hours.  There are cats to pet, guinea hens to laugh at and thousands of plants to enjoy. Creatively designed container arrangements are another feature.

Bonnie said her guineas work at the greenhouse. She bought them at the suggestion of a fellow grower to control grasshoppers that were eating her plants. People who frequent Bonnie’s Greenhouse look forward to “chatting” with the birds as they browse the grounds looking for the perfect plants.

The nursery specializes in herbs, antique roses and native plants. Bonnie operated this business for 27 years. She sold it in January 2008 to one of her closest friends, former employee Sandra Killough. 

The property is on Bonnie’s homestead, and she consults. She’s still on the premises most of the time, and the business is still called Bonnie’s Greenhouse.

Bonnie started out 29 years ago selling surplus irises and day lilies that she grew in her own yard.

Her husband, Charlie Murphy, worked full time driving for Central Freight Lines, but still found time to help her with his carpentry skills. Also helping Bonnie was her sister, Bert Ann Haug, and several others.

Throughout her life, Bonnie has found security in her unwavering faith. 

“This was a praying business from the start,” she said, adding that she prayed for about a month before she actually started the nursery business. She doesn’t discuss her religion a great deal, but if asked, she doesn’t hesitate to affirm her belief.  

To start her business, Bonnie put a three-line ad in the newspaper classified section in February 1981. February isn’t the ideal time to begin advertising plants, and she waited for three weeks for a response to her ad. 

Bonnie doesn’t remember her first customer, but she knows she sold her an iris or a day lily. She recalls the price of that first sale was $1 per plant, “because that’s what I sold everything for the first year or two.” 

She planned to sell her surplus plants, and she decided she should also sell some common bedding plants. Bonnie and Charlie bought an 8 x12 foot greenhouse from Morgan Buildings their first year in business. and she remembers filling that tiny greenhouse three times the first summer.

The business began to grow, in spite of some obvious liabilities. The location left much to be desired. That part of Orchard Lane was a one-way street that wasn’t on the way “to” anywhere. 

Not only that, but the acre was on low-lying ground that was prone to flooding. 

Besides, Bonnie had no formal business training. She quit school in the 10th grade to marry Charlie. She used a tackle box as her first cash register. She was innocent about business — illustrated by the fact that she was in business for quite awhile before she learned that one must withhold money for taxes and Social Security.  

Even more important was learning how to grow plants from seed. 

“That was my first challenge,” Bonnie said, “learning to know whether or not the seed should be covered, and if so, how deep.” 

She learned on the job and by talking with other growers. She was lucky with her friends. One, John Donath, owned a greenhouse in Cedar Springs, Texas, and was generous with his help and advice. 

As she bought plants from wholesalers, Bonnie noticed that certain ones were labeled “stock plants.” By asking questions, she learned that one could propagate plants from cuttings. That opened a whole new world to this woman who seems to have an innate ability to nurture both plants and people. 

A rusty old bicycle and its basket serve as an interesting planter and trellis at Bonnie’s.

Gradually, the business grew. Charlie built her another, larger greenhouse the next spring. It was 16 x 20 feet, and still wasn’t large enough. In October 1983, they built their first commercial-sized greenhouse. 

Meanwhile, she learned which plants can succeed in Central Texas, with its extreme heat in summer and sudden cold snaps in winter. This climate, with its frequent droughts, is challenging to gardeners. Bonnie refused to stock and sell plants that aren’t able to grow here. 

“A lot of the big-box stores sold things that wouldn’t last two months here,” she said. “If you care anything about your customers, you don’t sell that kind of thing. We don’t guarantee a lot of stuff, but we don’t sell things that need a guarantee.” 

 The business succeeded beyond the Murphys’ expectations, but disaster struck in the spring of 1989. A 9-inch rain brought floods that swept the low-lying area and took about three-fourths of the nursery’s stock miles down the road.

“I had people calling me to tell me my plants had washed up in pastures miles and miles away,”  Bonnie said. She spent the first day or two in a daze, then she began to take stock. 

“I prayed; I wondered if God meant me to continue in this, and I prayed,” she said. “Finally, I felt at peace. I decided that yes, He meant me to continue, and so I did.”

 Her business rebounded, and Bonnie had buyers from throughout Central Texas. She welcomed groups to tour the nursery, and she pushed herself to accept speaking engagements. “You have to create your own business world,” she said. 

Bonnie was careful about hiring, making sure her employees were pleasant, friendly and knowledgeable about the plants being sold. 

Over the years, Bonnie has been generous to schools and organizations. She has donated a wealth of plants and expertise. This is a good business, of course, but that’s not the only reason for her generosity. 

“God’s been good to us, and we’ve been given so much; and you know, you have to give back,” she said.

When approaching retirement, she said she would have closed the business, rather than sell it. Instead, there was someone she trusted to continue operating the greenhouse.

Bonnie felt comfortable selling the business to Sandra Killough, who has maintained the same atmosphere. Bonnie said she never expected the greenhouse to be so successful. 

“I just did it the only way I knew how,” she said. 

Many Central Texas gardeners wouldn’t have had her do it any other way.