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Wilmot Nursery and Landscaping Receives Financing

  Michael Bird had a perennial dream. In June 2000, he began working      summers at Wilmot Nursery and Landscaping in Lake Ariel. Founded in 1985, the nursery was considered the area’s premiere source for landscaping, hardscaping and gardening needs and Bird wanted to be a part of its success.

But Bird hoped to do more than just work for Wilmot. He planned to own it. “I saw a lot of potential in the nursery and thought I could make it one of the best garden centers in the area. So I asked the owner, Robert Wilmot about his future intentions,” says Bird.

After completing his master’s degree in agronomy at Penn State University in 2003, Bird joined the Wilmot staff, full time. For the following fiver years, Bird apprentices under and received management training from Mr. Wilmot. In 2008, Mr. Wilmot was ready to sell and Bird approached Honesdale National Bank’s vice president and commercial loan officer, Ron Sebastianelli, who referred him to MetroAction.

Through MetroAction, Bird received assistance with his budget and obtained financing to purchase his spring inventory. Today he owns the region’s largest and most comprehensive garden center, with more than 450 sizes and types of trees and shrubs and a gift shop.

Bird isn’t stopping to smell the roses just yet. With MetroAction’s help, he plans to build a new facility so Wilmot Nursery and Landscaping is “more of a destination, not just a place to shop,” and believes his budding business can rank among the top 25 garden centers in the northeast.

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