The story behind Pepper's Greenhouses

My first memory of a friend and childhood playmate when I was 4 or 5, or maybe even 6, was the current owner of Pepper's Greenhouses, Fred Pepper. I would see him standing in the far corner of our large yard. My mother or grandmother would say, "There's your friend," so I would run out across the yard to greet him, and we would play under the old quince tree or under the metal umbrella of the clothesline.

Often we would venture across the alley and play on the porch with Kay Hitchens, Linda Jefferson and other neighborhood kids. We spent all 12 years together in the Milton Consolidated Schoolhouse. Fred said he never liked school, for he had his own ideas of prosperity and has been very successful. He is known to be thrifty and, like myself, held a pragmatic belief that not everyone has to go to college to find success. Although I went to college, I still believe that we need plumbers, electricians and farmers, and a farmer is what Fred always wanted to be.

He is very saving in outlook and has always been so. We both had my mother for our second-grade teacher. She insisted that everyone subscribe to a grade-school publication called The Weekly Reader. It cost 50 cents. Fred didn't see the use for it and wouldn't pay my mother the 50 cents. Finally, my mother gave up and fronted the two quarters to pay for Fred's subscription. Maybe 50 years later, my mother went into Pepper's Greenhouses, and Fred, now a successful business owner, finally paid her back for the 50-cent "loan."

Fred is today, as he was back in elementary school, a jack-of-all-trades. Even in second grade, he could operate a sewing machine! He helped my mother sew the Southern belle costumes for her grand play production, "The Song of the South." "That boy can really sew," my mother exclaimed.

Fred lived in a beautiful brick house right next to the north end of the Milton School. I still think it's one of the prettiest houses in Milton, especially when the two deep-red crape myrtles that flank the front door are in full bloom during late summer. Fred's father, Foster H. Pepper, built it himself many years ago in 1938-40.

It was convenient for Fred to go home for lunch, since he was not enthusiastic about cafeteria food. He could eat better and for less at home. Although Fred is good with figures, he did not see the practical purpose of algebra, trigonometry and the more abstract mathematical classes. To compensate for this disinterest, he took care of the fishbowl for our algebra teacher, Mrs. Martha Lowe, and she gave him an A! I am sure it was very well kept, knowing Fred's reputation for doing things right.

The Pepper's goose would often honk so loud that teachers in the north end of the schoolhouse would have to pause their lecturing until it stopped. A very useful class to Fred was Latin, taught by Miss Esther Weakley, who would chew chalk whenever she got upset. Learning Latin has certainly helped him understand the botanical names of hundreds of the plants that he now sells.

Fred started work young. He would skip classes between 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to manage the Tastee-Freez that used to be in Milton. Someone would pick up the orders and ferry them to the schoolhouse. One day the principal went for a lunchtime snack and encountered Fred at his school-time/part-time job. The principal told Fred a day later that he would never amount to anything, and other students would soon want to do the same thing. "Good for them, I'd say!" was Fred’s answer, and he has certainly proved the principal wrong.

Many of my classmates from the Class of '66 who didn't attend college are doing very well. Fred believes in being a "well-rounded square," and he believes in ingenuity. He could even build a house without a formal blueprint!

His business model is made productive and profitable by the “three P's" – good product, fair prices, and people spreading good word of mouth.

The first Pepper’s greenhouse was started in 1985 at 13034 Cedar Creek Road just north of Milton. It is behind a farmhouse down a stately drive lined on both sides by evergreen trees. Fred’s business card says "Plants for all seasons for any reason." He offers a large assortment of trees, shrubs, seasonal and holiday flowers, perennials and ornamental grasses. There are also many varieties of native plants, and rare and unusual houseplants. Pepper’s has one of the largest selections of plants in the area.

There is also a colorful and charming assortment of garden decorations, statuary and mobiles. Spools of colorful ribbons beckon, and all holiday gifts, etc. are adorned with hand-tied bows. Fred's wife Diane, and Fred's sons Fred and Kirt plus his helpful and friendly daughter-in-law Alyssa all work at the greenhouse in this vibrant family business.

Pepper’s Greenhouses is open all year long but closed on Tuesdays. Sunday hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the business is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. all other days.