Season 3 Episode 4 –with Leigh Geschwill, Owner and Sales Manager of F & B Farms and Nursery Artwork

Keeping It Green

Our landscapes have many functions; they add beauty to our surroundings, provide a place to recreate, reduce stress, and clean and cool the surrounding environment. They also provide pollen and nectar for pollinators and provide habitat for birds. Keeping It Green is a weekly podcast in which Penn State extension educators talk with ornamental plant professionals and enthusiasts who add beauty and function to our landscapes. Topics will range from design, installation and maintenance, plant selection, pests, and other current horticulture topics.

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Keeping It Green

Season 3 Episode 4 –with Leigh Geschwill, Owner and Sales Manager of F & B Farms and Nursery

June 03, 2025 • Penn State Extension • Season 3 • Episode 4

The Keeping It Green team travels to Oregon’s Willamette Valley to interview Leigh Geschwill, Owner and Sales Manager of F & B Farms and Nursery. Leigh offers a behind-the-scenes look at her family’s third-generation business, which includes a wholesale greenhouse operation producing annuals, organic herb and vegetable starts, potted flowers, fall décor, and poinsettias for the Pacific Northwest.

On the farm side, F & B also manages commercial hop production and runs a small, seasonal garden center serving the local community.

Leigh, a past president of both the Oregon Association of Nurseries and the Horticultural Research Institute (HRI), shares her leadership journey and explains HRI’s role in funding critical research—from plant disease resistance to consumer behavior—through a $20 million self-funded endowment and strategic government partnerships.

The conversation also touches on labor shortages in the ornamental plant industry, compares the collaborative nature of Oregon’s ag groups with Pennsylvania’s more fragmented structure, and explores how to inspire the next generation to pursue careers in horticulture.

Episode Hosts/Speakers: Sandy Feather, Penn State Extension (host)

Tim Abbey, Penn State Extension (host)

Leigh Geschwill, Owner and Sales Manager of F & B Farms and Nursery

Caption – The Willamette Valley’s growing conditions, mild and moist winters with dry summers make for great seed production and harvesting conditions. This is a picture of one of the research facilities that looks at qualities and disease resistance. Photo: Tom Butzler, Penn State

Keeping It Green has an email: keepingitgreen@psu.edu
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