Ed Platt, the owner of Linden Nursery, began working in the garden center industry in 1978 when he went to work for Western Garden Center in Salt Lake City. He worked himself up to management and eventually partnership in the company. In 1992 Ed purchased the Orem location of Western Garden Center and began Countryside Garden Center.

Almost immediately Ed and his wife Valerie recognized that they would eventually need more space and began looking for another site. Soon after, they purchased farm ground in Lindon and began a multi-year process of developing a new nursery in Lindon and moving the Orem-based Countryside Garden Center. With the transition, the name was changed to Linden Nursery. Finally in early 2000, they completed construction of the new barn, which serves as the retail store.

Everyone asks why the spelling of Linden Nursery (with an “E”) is different from the spelling of Lindon City (with an “O”)? Back when Lindon City was called Stringtown and consisted of farms “strung” out along Locust Avenue and State Street, the townsfolk applied for a new post office. When the Postal management in Washington wanted to know what to call the new post office location, the decision was made to call it “Linden” because up until then the mail was simply dropped off under a large linden tree. However, someone got the spelling of the tree wrong, and forever after it has been spelled Lindon with an “O.” Ed and Valerie didn’t want to perpetuate the misspelling since they are supposed to know something about trees, so they decided to correct the spelling.

Since the very beginning, the nursery has been a family affair. All seven children have grown up in the business and worked there from the time they were young. “It’s very reminiscent of a family farm,” said Ed. “The business has been very good for our family and we’ve learned to work and play together.”

In the last nine years the Platt family has worked hard at making Linden Nursery a successful business. All seven children have continued working for Linden Nursery off and on. In July of 2005 Ed was asked to serve as a Mission President for his church in Brazil, and he and his wife will be gone for three years. In their absence, the children are working together to maintain the business that their father started.

As new improvements continue, the Platt family will continue the effort to maintain the farm-like atmosphere and the “little bit of country” that is the motto of Lindon City.

-With excerpts taken from an article in the Pleasant Grove review