On November 1, 1972 William "Bill" Claussen purchased Carpenter Greenhouses and started Claussen’s Greenhouses. Hard work, due diligence and knowledge of how to grow and sell great plants has always been our philosophy since day one.
Bill set the bar high and that has always been the expectation that we have achieved through hard work and continues after his passing. He built the greenhouses with the help of his energetic staff, from morning until night, through sweat and tears as he had a vision. For years, Bill worked on making his dreams come true. From the beginning, he ran the cash registers, did the books, cared for the plants and managed the entire business almost single-handedly. Bill is an astute businessman with a firm touch. He knew what his goals were and did not stop until he surpassed them. His kind of energy and commitment to excellence is what our company is built on today. Although he has since passed, Bill remains the inspiration, along with Chris Conant (co-owner and Vice President). Chris started in the business in the 1970s possessing a love of flowers and people. Chris’s dedication to fostering lasting relationships with our customers, along with Bill’s devotion and that of over 50 employees, awarded Claussen’s Florist & Greenhouse ‘Vermont Retailer of the Year for 2008’, and Seven Daysies 'Best Florist' in 2023 & 2024.
In the mid 1980s it became apparent that the floral industry was beginning to change. To stay competitive, Claussen’s had to balance its’ focus between growing quality plants and serving the needs of our retail customers. In order to stand out from the retail chains and grocery stores selling plants and floral bouquets, Bill brought on Brenda Wheel and her amazingly talented Floral Designers. Specializing in producing individualized floral designs and maintaining the retail shop complete with novelty items and silk arrangements. Brenda is still a part of our amazing team today and serves as our Florist & Retail Manager. Along side Brenda, our talented floral designers maintain a keen eye for design and produce exquisite works of art.
Through the years, Claussen's has had a number of locations throughout Vermont and New York. As our generous public acceptance increased, we decided to expand our current operations (in Colchester Village) by over 500,000 square feet and, in the later years, scaled back on the number of locations we had. This shift is an example of how we are constantly changing to improve customer convenience and company efficiency. In October 2009 Claussen's merged our Perennial Farm location into our Colchester Village location. This allowed all of our operations to be in one location, allowing our customers a one-stop-shop experience.
In 2013 Claussen's started our Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. This program uses natural predators to fight pest bugs, to reduce the use of chemicals and emphasizes natural and low toxic chemicals making it safer for the environment, customers and our employees. In place of chemical pesticides. We are taking these steps for our future, because our top priority is you, our employees and our environment.
Loyalty to understanding and fulfilling our customer’s needs is something we pride ourselves on and welcome the opportunity to do so. We are also proud to support many civic groups and local charities, which provide us the good fortune to give back to the communities that support us so strongly.
Unfortunately, Bill Claussen passed away on March 19, 2022. He leaves the greenhouse in the capable hands of business partner of over 40 years, Chris Conant, Ali Lapierre (Chris' daughter) and his wonderful Claussen's team to carry on the William Claussen tradition!
Bill set the bar high and that has always been the expectation that we have achieved through hard work and continues after his passing. He built the greenhouses with the help of his energetic staff, from morning until night, through sweat and tears as he had a vision. For years, Bill worked on making his dreams come true. From the beginning, he ran the cash registers, did the books, cared for the plants and managed the entire business almost single-handedly. Bill is an astute businessman with a firm touch. He knew what his goals were and did not stop until he surpassed them. His kind of energy and commitment to excellence is what our company is built on today. Although he has since passed, Bill remains the inspiration, along with Chris Conant (co-owner and Vice President). Chris started in the business in the 1970s possessing a love of flowers and people. Chris’s dedication to fostering lasting relationships with our customers, along with Bill’s devotion and that of over 50 employees, awarded Claussen’s Florist & Greenhouse ‘Vermont Retailer of the Year for 2008’, and Seven Daysies 'Best Florist' in 2023 & 2024.
In the mid 1980s it became apparent that the floral industry was beginning to change. To stay competitive, Claussen’s had to balance its’ focus between growing quality plants and serving the needs of our retail customers. In order to stand out from the retail chains and grocery stores selling plants and floral bouquets, Bill brought on Brenda Wheel and her amazingly talented Floral Designers. Specializing in producing individualized floral designs and maintaining the retail shop complete with novelty items and silk arrangements. Brenda is still a part of our amazing team today and serves as our Florist & Retail Manager. Along side Brenda, our talented floral designers maintain a keen eye for design and produce exquisite works of art.
Through the years, Claussen's has had a number of locations throughout Vermont and New York. As our generous public acceptance increased, we decided to expand our current operations (in Colchester Village) by over 500,000 square feet and, in the later years, scaled back on the number of locations we had. This shift is an example of how we are constantly changing to improve customer convenience and company efficiency. In October 2009 Claussen's merged our Perennial Farm location into our Colchester Village location. This allowed all of our operations to be in one location, allowing our customers a one-stop-shop experience.
In 2013 Claussen's started our Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. This program uses natural predators to fight pest bugs, to reduce the use of chemicals and emphasizes natural and low toxic chemicals making it safer for the environment, customers and our employees. In place of chemical pesticides. We are taking these steps for our future, because our top priority is you, our employees and our environment.
Loyalty to understanding and fulfilling our customer’s needs is something we pride ourselves on and welcome the opportunity to do so. We are also proud to support many civic groups and local charities, which provide us the good fortune to give back to the communities that support us so strongly.
Unfortunately, Bill Claussen passed away on March 19, 2022. He leaves the greenhouse in the capable hands of business partner of over 40 years, Chris Conant, Ali Lapierre (Chris' daughter) and his wonderful Claussen's team to carry on the William Claussen tradition!
1970's Geranium Greenhouse
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2024 Geranium Greenhouse
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Our greenhouses may have been improved, but the quality of plants remains the same for the past 50+ years!
Our Mission Statement
Claussen Enterprises is dedicated to delivering legendary service, exceptional value, consistency and professional guidance in providing top quality products and services for our patrons. Our number one goal is to develop life-long relationships with our customers by understanding and catering to their needs.
