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Our Story

Our Mission & Values

Our mission is to meet the expectations of our customers in the horticultural and related fields with quality non-plant products and services while providing the employees and owners an opportunity to advance their business and personal goals through the company in an enjoyable and fulfilling way.

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Relationships

We create and maintain mutually beneficial, long term relationships with our customers, suppliers and team members that are based on honesty and trust.

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People

We are self-motivated people who take responsibility to develop ourselves, our teams and the company. We celebrate our achievements and seek to inspire each other.

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Teamwork

We all work together in an ethical, practical, reliable, and safety conscious manner to serve our customers and each other. We all pitch in and no job is beneath any team member.

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Improvement

We innovate to produce efficiencies, cost savings and smarter work solutions in order to maintain a fair and reasonable profit while adding value for our customers. We are committed to improve all we touch within our industry and our community.

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Products and Services

We develop and produce consistent products to meet the quality expectations of our customers. We bring value by inderstanding our customers’ businesses, and build solutions through our products and services.

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Sustainability

We positively and thoughtfully impace our region’s land, considering economic vitality, environmental responsibility and the well-being of our people and community.

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Irma Orum surrounded by her family.

The History of Irma’s Garden

Midwest Groundcovers and Midwest Trading are family owned and operated, incorporating a value system that embraces quality, service and relationships above all. Leadership and employees are dedicated to creating and observing sustainable practices and products, with an emphasis on providing top quality plants and growing media — as well as exceptional service to customers and community. Long-term relationships are based on honesty and trust. Teamwork is key, and customers are considered to be an integral and highly valued part of the Midwest team.

Irma’s Garden® products are developed and created by professional growers who’ve been in business for nearly 50 years. Midwest Groundcovers was established on five acres in 1969 by Peter and Irma Orum, and it soon grew to encompass nearly 1,000 acres over several locations in northern Illinois and in Michigan. The company propagates and grows about 1,300 varieties of region-specific plants ranging from groundcovers and perennials to ornamental grasses, vines, hardy shrub roses, deciduous shrubs, conifers, and broadleaf evergreens. All are carefully selected and bred for hardiness and vigor in the Midwest.

In 1981, Peter and Irma created Midwest Trading to supply hardgoods and growing media to the Chicago area and surrounding states. The company’s state-of-the-art soil mixing facility produces top quality blends using proprietary “recipes” developed by staff soil specialists in cooperation with leading industry consultants. Raw materials are locally sourced and monitored onsite, following a rigorous quality control and quality assurance program. The company’s lab provides continuous analysis of both raw ingredients and finished product. In addition, each batch is subjected to inspection and analysis by a third-party lab.

Irma’s Garden® blends are developed and produced with the same quality ingredients and attention to detail as the mixes used to grow Midwest Groundcovers’ exceptional plants. Your customers will appreciate the professional-grade product created especially for their gardening needs.

The company behind Irma’s Garden is big enough to produce the best, but nimble enough to serve your needs. “Our people are engaged,” states Midwest Trading president and COO Joe Hobson. “We maintain strong personal ties to our clients and customers.

“It’s personal for us,” he continues. “We’re a small company with big capabilities, and we take our responsibility quite personally.”

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Merchants

Irma’s Garden® is more than another mix supplier. We are professional growers who use our own products. Irma’s family has been providing container mix to the professional grower industry for over 50 years. Irma’s Garden® is a line of products developed specifically for the home gardener.

Merchants