Oh how that garden center grows
Bulk family-owned and -operated business thrives for 87 years
BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP Staff Writer
When Jac Bulk came to America from Holland in the 1920s, he took off his wooden shoes, planted them with geraniums and sold them as a whimsical gift. That's how Bulk's Nursery got started.

JEFF GRANIT staff Gloria Bulk, of Millstone, talks about the history of Bulk's Garden Center and Nursery, which began in Long Island in the 1920s and continues to thrive on Monmouth Road in Manalapan today. She chalks the business's success up to its motto, "Enter as strangers, leave as friends."

The family-owned and -operated nursery started on Long Island in 1921 and predominantly sold plants wholesale up and down the East Coast before moving to Manalapan in 1945.

"We don't really know why he picked this spot. Back then, there was nothing here," said Gloria Bulk, who married Jac's son David. "Jac had an airplane. Maybe he was flying over and just looked down and said, 'That's the spot.' "

Gloria said her father-in-law couldn't have known that Monmouth Road/Route 537 would become the through route of the area that it is today. However, she said the family is lucky that he somehow chose the perfect location for the garden center, which continues to thrive today.

JEFF GRANIT staff Gloria Bulk, of Millstone, gives customers at Bulk's Garden Center healthy alternatives to produce grown with pesticides by offering a variety of organic and naturally grown products in her Manalapan-based business.

David and his brother Pete started running the Manalapanbased garden center and nursery when they both turned 18.

Although Jac had seven children, only two remained in the business.

David met Gloria, who shared his love for plants, flowers and landscaping, having worked for Bobbink & Atkins Nursery in Millstone for years, and the two married in 1987.

"When I got married, I came here to work with these guys," Gloria said. "My husband and I have this business. I have a flower business, and he and Peter are landscapers."

The family owns a 20-acre farm on Route 527 in Millstone and an 85-acre farm in Cranbury in Middlesex County.

"We grow some stuff on those properties, but we're currently in the process of selling the farm in Cranbury to the county," she said.

ERIC SUCAR staff A plethora of colorful flowers bloom and can be purchased at Bulk's Garden Center and Nursery in Manalapan.

An abundance of animal topiaries, koi ponds, large trees, shade plants, bamboo, flowers, succulents, wind chimes, water plants, garden tools and accessories, and even polliwogs are at the ready for purchase at the garden center and its greenhouses.

"I try to get out-of-the-ordinary items, because I don't like competing with Wal- Mart and Home Depot," Gloria said. "I offer different things and quality service. That's what you don't get in the big-box stores."

Gloria also offers fresh-cut flowers and unique arrangements such as the wooden chair she planted with various varieties of moss.

"My passion is flowers," she said. "Mother nature just puts me in awe. The colors - you can't duplicate them. And, that's what I enjoy the most, the beauty of flowers' textures and colors."

This year, the garden center also has a variety of organic herbs and vegetable plants for sale. Gloria has also added refrigerators to the center, which she keeps stocked with organic milk, eggs, butter and cheese from Pennsylvania farmers. She has also partnered with the Roosevelt Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program and will sell certified naturally grown produce from that local farm as well. Last week, she and CSA farmer Dave Burlew stocked her shelves, which are always full of organic salsa, chips and teas, with just-picked bok choy, spinach, greenhouse cucumbers, onions and lettuce.

"We are adding new, local and highquality stuff at competitive prices," Gloria said. "I like to have good food. And this thing I'm doing with Dave will offer people healthy produce that they can't get in many supermarkets."

Gloria also has a vision of making the garden center more of a destination spot for locals. She said European garden centers offer tea and coffee in a café-like setting surrounded by the natural beauty of the plants and flowers.

"Europeans are never in a rush like Americans always are," she said. "What's the old adage? Stop and smell the roses. We can say, 'Stop and smell the roses and drink a cup of coffee with us.' "

The family sees the cafe as a way to further help the business live up to its motto, "Enter as customers, leave as friends."

"Customers can expect a wonderful experience when they come here," Gloria said. "There's friendly people, beautiful stuff and a knowledgeable staff. It's like going back to the days of the general store."

The business also offers full landscaping services, deliveries, free taste testing on weekends, and rental of the center for cocktail parties.

Bulk's Garden Center and Nursery is open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.