Internship – Summer 2011

Miles Thompson

Peck’s Garden Center, Nursery, Flower Shop, and Landscaping.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

This past summer, I interned at Peck’s Garden Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for part of the summer, then moved to their landscape crew in July.  For the past three years I have been working for Peck’s doing work ranging from hauling annuals to the retail house for purchase, installing 50-foot walls with the landscape crew, and loading bulk dirt and rock for customers. Peck’s is a family owned Iowa business that has been serving the Cedar Rapids, Marion, Hiawatha, and surrounding areas offering floral, garden center needs, and landscape products since 1956.  Peck’s has earned a great name for themselves having many returning customers for their quality products from annuals to large nursery stock.  It all started with a man who went by the name “Peck.” In 1956 Peck and his wife, Myrtle Peckosh, started the business to assist their customers in lawn care, gardening, and landscaping.  Providing a wide variety of quality plants from all over the country working with the best growers in the industry.  Also, Peck’s employees are very knowledgeable and fun to work with.

(Back of Pecks where the annuls are located. Photo by Miles Thompson) 

This past year I returned to Peck’s in early May missing out on some important preparation for the annual season.  The first day back it didn’t really take me long to get back in the groove and chaos of things.   My main job consisted of moving annuals from the back greenhouses to the retail house where the customers purchase their flowers.  I have been assigned this job the past three years.  I caught on very quickly to the different names of the annuals and where we usually have them stocked in both greenhouses. 

 (Flat annual house in back. Photo by Miles Thompson) 

After the busy season slowed down I was asked to move onto the landscaping crew because they had an increased jobs and needed someone that could easily moved into something else and be able to handle it.  With the guys on the crew I learned things like how to put the black plastic or weed cloth down, build retaining walls, plant and install plants in the landscape correctly, and how to run machinery I have never operated before.  I learned a lot of new things and caught on very quickly. 

As the summer went on, my supervisors knew that I was interested in landscape design because I am majoring Horticulture at Iowa State.  They gave me a couple opportunities to practice and present my designs to the clients and allowed me to walk them through our nursery showing them everything I placed in their design.  It was a very good experience for me because it helped me realize that I really like working with the clients the most.  I enjoy working with people and the satisfaction of when you are able to get them excited for the crew to come and install their landscape.

Although my time was short with the landscape crew they have asked me to return next year to work with them.  They plan on

having me work with clients and go out on estimates and bid my own jobs.   It is nice to know that I have a job waiting for me this coming spring and summer, 2012.  I do have another year to finish at Iowa State with the hopes to continue on in graduate school to further my knowledge in the landscape industry with a focus towards sustainability.

Peck’s is a great place to work and is an excellent place for an internship for anyone interested in retail sales, floral design, and landscaping.  Ken and Shirley Peckosh are very nice people and love bringing in new faces to the working family they have created.

Past Undergraduate Student Profiles:

Evan Schnabel
Jeff Beadle
Brian De Vries
Tyler Johnson
Shane Mairet
Ben Matthews
Kelly Norris
Taylor Riggen