V.D. SALM | VIVA LAVANDULA

company

Established in the mid 1980s by the van der Salm brothers, Hans and Paul, the Gebr. van der Salm company quickly grew and developed into a fully automated nursery.
In 1988, the brothers moved the company to a new location at Kooiweg 32 in Boskoop. In those days, the species grown included clematis, ilex, picea, pernettya, salix (willow), gaultheria and lavender. At the time, lavender was being grown purely as a green plant, but expansion of the market also led to a greater emphasis on the visual aspect so that it was soon also being sold as a flowering plant.

With a view to the future, the brothers decided to scale up the nursery operations and to specialise in specific products. The products chosen were lavender and gaultheria. In 1998, the company premises at Kooiweg 32 were completely filled with roller tables, and further expansion at this location was not possible. The company's rapid growth and the increasing market demand led to the birth of plans for a new building.
In 2000, Kooiweg 15 became the next company project, and a fully automated nursery was built here, complete with roller tables and robots plus a large area for preparing orders.

In the following years, the company increased its production of lavender, whereby it also presented the market with a novelty of its own, the Lavandula stoechas Anouk®.
Due to the ever increasing demand, a decision was taken to extend the growing season for producing lavender, and a cooperative arrangement was entered into with Cresco in Portugal. This made it possible to market flowering lavender as early as mid March. In 2002, a cooperative venture was entered into with the B. Wansinck nursery, resulting in the establishment of the Bent nursery in Benthuizen. The latter specialises in growing spherical box plants.

On 3 May 2007, during a visit to the nursery in Portugal, Hans van der Salm died in a road accident. In spite of the void left in the company by the death of Hans, Gebr. van der Salm will manage to assure the continuity of its operations and will continue its innovative work within the market.

In the spring of 2009, a Lavender Park will be opened in Marknesse. All aspects related to lavender will be presented here, with the aim of bringing a sense of Provence to you.