Major news announcement coming your way! I, Jeff Frizzell, have taken over Frizzhome Gardens! Don’t worry, Howard Frizzell is not going anywhere. You will still find him working hard out here every day this spring and most days this year. My post in the morning will be my thoughts on the future of the business. I am honored and thrilled to be the new owner of Frizzhome Gardens and look forward to talking about the present as well as the future! That being said, I would like to take this opportunity to talk about my Dad briefly. My Dad has loved plants since he was a little kid growing up in Groveton, New Hampshire. He studied agriculture at UNH and graduated in 1974. My Dad established Frizzhome Gardens in 1986 (before Scott or I were even born). His first season open for business was in 1987 and he mainly sold to friends, neighbors and wholesale to local grocery stores. We grew up knowing that in the winter and spring my Dad would be working a full day as the superintendent of Woodlawn Cemetery in Nashua before coming home to work a few more hours in the greenhouse. I fondly remember playing with toys under the potting bench with Scott as my parents transplanted above us. One evening, my parents were visited at our home on Meadowcrest Drive by a remarkable woman, Helen Evans. She owned Yankee Kingdom Tree Farm on Back River Road and wanted to see that the land would continue to be used for agriculture. My parents bought the land from her in 1996 and my Dad immediately put up two greenhouses and a shop. In very short order Helen came to love our family and we loved her. She became a fixture at parties and even would go away for weekends at a time with our entire family. I could expound about Helen and how she won New England Tree Farmer of the Year in 1989 or how she was an actress in NY, but I digress.Time went on and we loved our lives at 270 Back River Road. My Dad still worked extremely hard between being the superintendent of Woodlawn Cemetery and having an ever-growing Frizzhome Gardens. My Mom worked as a children’s librarian for the Bedford Public Library. She was adored by everyone and she absolutely loved the patrons, especially all the kids. She was an amazing storyteller (I so wish she could be here to tell stories to my kids as well as my sibling’s kids). My oldest brother, Andy, was working part time under my Dad at Woodlawn Cemetery. My sister, Kerri, was studying at UNH. Scott was in high school and I was about to enter high school. Then came the day when we got the horrifying news that my Mom had incurable cancer in August of 2004. To say we were all devastated would be an understatement. My Mom was the type of person who never put herself first, literally. There are many amazing people out there but I can confidently say you could only hope to be as good of a person as her. I truly believe you could not be a better person than Marguerite Frizzell. My Mom was dying of cancer in a hospital bed and still asking if she could get anyone anything. She had tons of visitors in the hospital because she was incredibly loved. She meant so much to so many of us, but to her family, she was EVERYTHING. I love my family so damn much but our family unit will never be the same without her loving presence. We lost my Mom on October 27th of 2005. On top of being a children’s librarian and being the world’s greatest Mom, my Mom somehow managed to find the time to help my Dad transplant and water all the plants while my Dad worked at Woodlawn. She was a superhero. When she got sick, my Dad took early retirement from the cemetery to spend as much time with her as possible. He made Frizzhome Gardens his full time job. After losing his wife, my Dad put Frizzhome Gardens on his back and carried it ever since. There was one calendar year that saw my Dad literally work 364 of the 365 days!!! Some friends helped out transplanting and working the registers but my Dad was EVERYTHING to Frizzhome Gardens. I honestly see all the work that goes into Frizzhome and have no clue how my Dad was able to do it. I would not believe it if I had not witnessed it. Dad somehow persevered through his shattered heart and broken body. Fast forward to 2023 and a lot has changed but one constant is my Dad, Howard Frizzell. He still is the first one out to the greenhouses and has never lost his love or passion for plants. He has put all he has into making Frizzhome Gardens what it is now. His love for the plants, his knowledge, his dedication towards offering great plants, his commitment to keeping prices low for all of you and so much more are what has led to Frizzhome not only still being here, but having twelve greenhouses filled to the brim with wonderful plants!!!! My Dad is a compassionate, caring, kind, generous, fun, funny, and passionate man. My siblings and I are so lucky to have him as our Dad. I am sorry I have not always said it or shown it but I respect you so much and love you very much, Dad. Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do for me.Thank you for entrusting me with Frizzhome Gardens. I will work extremely hard to continue to make it better each year.
