Harmie Hubbard practically grew up in a greenhouse. So, what he does all day for a living is second nature to him. His business, Hubbard’s Greenhouse, is in Boaz in Etowah County, but its reputation for growing some of the best flowers and bedding plants around extends far beyond northeast Alabama.That fame has served Harmie and his family well for more than three generations, and it’s what helped earn him the title of this year’s Outstanding Young Farm Family in the Alabama Farmers Federation’s Greenhouse, Nursery and Sod Division.With more than 38,000 square feet of covered greenhouses, it’s fairly easy for contractors, homeowners and landscape lovers to find whatever they’re looking for at Hubbard’s Greenhouse. The business was started by Harmie’s grandmother decades ago, and he’s expanding it to include 15,000 square feet of sprinklers for growing shrubbery and trees. But one thing that has and will remain constant in the business, he said, is customer service.”It’s hard to say who our typical customer is,” Harmie said. “It ranges from someone who has a private jet that flies all over the country, to a little elderly lady who lives on a fixed income. The span is so great it’s unbelievable.”We have a lot of customers whose mother or grandmother has bought things from us over the years. We’re unlike a chain store or a big operation, because our customers get to know us, and we get to know them and what they like.”The busy season for Hubbard’s Greenhouse runs from Good Friday through Mother’s Day, but the business operates year round. Its best sellers are begonias, impatiens and petunias, but it offers a lot more, including new varieties each year.”One of the biggest challenges is figuring out what customers will want in the spring,” Harmie said. “We start Jan. 1 by planning what we’re going to grow, so we have to predict what’s going to be a good seller. Sometimes we get it right, other times we don’t. But if something sells really good one year, we’ll plant more of it the next year, and if it doesn’t, then we discontinue it.”Harmie said one of the biggest challenges he’s faced since taking over the business was the death of his father five years ago. Tearful emotions still surface when he talks about his father, who along with his mother, was a partner in the business.”You just can’t explain what it’s like to lose someone you’ve loved all your life and that you worked with every single day,” he said. “In addition to being my daddy, he knew more about this business than anyone else. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t still miss him.”One thing his father taught him was simplified pricing. It’s a trademark at Hubbard’s Greenhouse. The retail and wholesale prices for plants are split down the middle, offering savings to most customers.”All flats are $5 each — no matter how many a customer buys, and all baskets are $6 each, regardless of what’s in them, and customers carry out whatever they buy,” he said. “We have no delivery trucks — so we don’t have that insurance to pay or driver costs. Our entire crop is toted out by retail consumers.”Hubbard’s Greenhouse employs four full-time employees and 12 part-time employees, although those numbers vary with the seasons.Harmie helps save money by recycling as much of the leftover potting soil and pots as he can, buying in large quantities, and booking his propane in the summer to help reduce winter heating costs. And living nearby, he simply walks about 50 feet each morning, and he’s at work. Although living nearby often causes him to work longer hours, he said it definitely has benefits.”The good thing about living next door is saving on gas,” he said. “And I get a free suntan from working outside a lot.”