Sunnycrest Nursery appears on news list

Entity is one of the “Best places to buy new garden plants”

Susan Schell

of the Gateway

Sometimes the little guys get big recognition out of the blue. So when Sunnycrest Nursery appeared on Komo News’ “Best places to buy new garden plants” it’s owners were a little surprised.

“I have no idea how they heard about us,” said Claudia Loy, who has owned the nursery in Key Center with her husband, Dale, for more than 27 years.

“They must have done it on the sly, she said. My guess is that somebody wrote in about us.”

Residents of the Key Peninsula probably wouldn’t be surprised about the recognition. The nursery is an icon on the peninsula and a “go to” spot for events on the key.

“We have always been involved with the community,” Claudia said. “We sell all the tickets for events and if anybody has a question, unfortunately, I know all the answers.

I feel like I’m the chamber of commerce here.”

Dale Loy is a member of the Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association and is a state certified professional horticulturist. Other than that, Claudia said the pair learned the nursery business through the “school of hard knocks.”

“We always knew we wanted to run a nursery and garden business,” she said.

The nursery they purchased was formerly called Sakura. Claudia approached the owner one day and asked him if he ever planned to sell the business. As luck would have it, he was already considering putting it up for sale.

Claudia’s family has strong roots in the community — her great grandparents homesteaded the Key Center. The Loys’ children help out at the nursery — it’s a family business.

The Loys believe that good customer service involves educating their customers on how to select proper purchases for their home and gardening situation. After all, Dale said, plants are living things and need to be taken care of.

“People perceive cheap as being a value,” he said. “I think information is much more important. We try to impress that upon people when they buy. We try to sell the proper tie-ins for people and we’re trying to go more organic.”

The couple encourages people to bring in pictures of their homes and living spaces so they can select what type of foliage would look best.

“We do try to keep a real variety of plants and we’ll actually talk to the customers,” Dale said.

“We try to make successful gardeners out of people by making sure they have the correct information,” Claudia said.

The nursery is keeping a close eye and ear on the environmental movement and the public demand for organic products that are not harmful to the surroundings.

“It’s a long sell but people are getting into it more and more,” Dale said. “We’re educating people that they can’t be dumping high nitrogen fertilizer on their lawns that will run off into the ocean or into the sewer. We don’t want to poison the earth.”

Reach Lifestyles Coordinator and reporter Susan Schell at 253-853-9240 or by e-mail at susan.schell@gateline.com.