In row upon row, arranged in an order well understood by gardener Imants Parfenovičs and his colleagues at the “Zaļenieki” nursery in Aptiekas, Zaļenieki parish, Jelgava municipality, a vast array of ornamental plants thrive. The total number of species and varieties here exceeds two thousand. “If you weren't a mathematician, you wouldn't be able to build a nursery like this,” Imants Parfenovičs was once told by his mentor, the scientist and legendary flower breeder Aldonis Vēriņš. The nursery created by Imants Parfenovičs in Aptiekas, Zaļenieki parish, has existed for almost thirty years. The plants grown here are sold not only in Zaļenieki but also in Rīga, Jēkabpils, Daugavpils and nine other locations across Latvia. Sometimes people visit the Zaļenieki nursery on holidays and weekends. They are rural tourists, stopping by on their way to the Tērvete Nature Park or a cultural event at Abgunste Manor.

Finding workers with “green fingers”

Imants Parfenovičs reflects that he has not become exceedingly rich from dealing in tree seedlings. His home, “Aptiekas”, has remained without a modern renovation and looks just as it did forty years ago when it housed the office of the “Zaļenieki” state farm. However, the owner of Aptiekas takes great satisfaction in the nursery he has managed to create on the 21-hectare area around his home, as well as the nursery's staff, consisting mostly of local women from the surrounding area. Those who possess a strong work ethic and “green fingers”. In other words, what they plant, graft, water and otherwise cherish grows well. “I can play a solo on the trumpet. Here, it is important how we are able to do the work together. Every job requires expertise, every job has its own tricks,” emphasises Imants Parfenovičs. During our conversation, he adds with a smile that he truly did play the trumpet in his early youth, and it was in a brass band that his entrepreneurial thinking first developed.