NEWBERRY — Carter and Holmes Orchids, a nursery based in Newberry, represents the hard work and dedication of two families and their desire to provide to people with quality orchids.
Carter and Holmes is an orchids and houseplants nursery dedicated to sell orchids to people who grow plants in and around their homes. It was founded in 1947 by cousins Bill Carter and Owen Holmes and nowadays the business has 18 greenhouses.
At first, the business was dedicated to sell orchids as cut flowers but later, as the demand for cut flowers started to decrease, Carter and Holmes Orchids became more of a nursery dedicated to grow and sell orchids for home growing. The family business is currently managed by Owen’s son Mac Holmes.
It was a black and white advertisement spot in the back of a Southern Living Magazine that changed the entire trajectory of the business. The magazine ad only included a Bow Bell orchid and some contact information about Carter and Holmes. However, this was exactly what the business needed to change paths and become a mail order business.
“They sold more of those plants (Bow Bells) from that little ad than my father ever imagined they would and that’s how they became a mail order business,” said Mac Holmes, owner of Carter and Holmes Orchids.
As time passed by, Carter and Holmes Orchids became more of a retailer, selling between 80 to 120 orchids per week and shipping orders not only domestically but all over the world, as well.
Every year, they ship regularly to South Africa, as they have a distributor in that country. They also ship small orders to Chile, Venezuela, Russia, Japan and have good customers in Canada.
“One of the really neat things about what we do is that I never know who is going to walk through the door” “I’ve picked up good customers at airports, people fly over here for vacation to visit us for open houses,” Holmes said.
One of Carter and Holmes niches is that they do not only grow and sell orchids but they create the orchids they sell. Carter and Holmes Orchids is known for being one of the first nurseries around the U.S. to have a laboratory where orchid cloning is performed. They propagate little orchids by tissue culture to assure to their customers that the quality of the orchids they will receive is exactly as they saw on a catalog or at first sight on one of their greenhouses.
Carter and Holmes Orchids has one of the most respectable breeding programs among orchid nurseries worldwide. To date, they have produced more than 10,000 different types of orchids.
“There is not a lot of orchid nurseries that have laboratories, here at Carter and Holmes we have what is called seed- flasking and tissue culture and those are the aspects that make this place special,” said Steve Arthur, lab manager at Carter and Holmes Orchids.
The orchid cloning Carter and Holmes Orchids performs is a well-known characteristic of the business. “Something impressive about what they do is their ability to take an award- winning orchid and clone it to make copies of that plant, so that everybody has an opportunity to purchase and seeing grow the exact same orchid,” said Charles Horn, Biology professor at Newberry College.
Besides selling and shipping orchids all around the world and within the U.S., Carter and Holmes Orchids also has tours to explore the facilities and hosts open houses throughout the year. They have four open houses a year where people can attend different workshops through the day, visit the greenhouses, obtain discounts on the plants, among other activities. They also offer guided tours for 10 people or more by reservation and this includes a little workshop and a tour to explore the greenhouses.
Carter and Holmes is an orchids nursery that anyone can visit at anytime during business hours almost all year round. However, the best months to see the orchids blooming are March, April and May. “They will tell you exactly how to take care of each orchid and you get to see first hand, the different steps of an orchid growing process,” said Rex Woolbright, owner of Woolbrights Florist.
“It is interesting to talk to people that come to the business who really love and are interested in orchids. They share their knowledge about orchids with us as well,” said Sharon Clift, lab tech at Carter and Holmes Orchids.
The orchid nursery is also involved with the community and cooperates around the county. They work as a team with other business and tourist’s spots around the county to attract more people to Newberry. Carter and Holmes Orchids works with and delivers orchids to main places around Newberry including the Newberry Opera House, local banks, Newberry College, among others.
“I’ve known them since 1968. We are a florist business and we use a lot of orchids. Carter and Holmes is part of the Newberry community and I really like their services” “It is very unique they have that many different types of orchids,” Woolbright said.
Carter and Holmes Orchids is a family business that has been around for more than 60 years. It currently has 16 employees and it is considered very well known when it comes to orchids, not only around South Carolina but around the world as well.
“I always thought of this business as my parents and the Carter’s legacy. I feel like by keeping this business alive, in a way, I’m kind of keeping my father’s, Bill’s and my parent’s name alive too,” Holmes said.
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