Bryan and Kristy Schell take care of thousands of babies each day. Well, not real babies. Their care is distributed in 20 greenhouses filled with hanging ferns and flowering plants, which is probably the reason greenhouses are called nurseries, according to Kristy.When the Schells decided to open their greenhouse business eight years ago, it was seen as an opportunity for Kristy to stay home with their three children and provide additional income for the family. They formed a partnership with Bryan’s parents, Paulette and Richard Schell, and opened P&K Nursery next to their homes.”We really got the idea for the greenhouses from my mom who bought a plant shop in Foley,” Kristy recalled. “She had trouble keeping it stocked, and she wanted to sell Boston ferns. She suggested we talk to Bryan’s parents. His parents were at an age where they could be retiring, but I think they really wanted to help us start our own business.”The Schells live in southeast Baldwin County near the town of Elberta and are the 2001 Outstanding Young Farm Family in the horticulture division. When they started their business, they had no experience in greenhouses. They attribute much of their success to Delano and Jessie Semmes of Semmes, Ala., who operate a successful nursery there.”The Semmes have 36 houses, and we based a lot of our business on theirs,” Kristy said. “They still give us lots of good advice and guidance.”Bryan said the fact that they are competitors of the Semmes shows what kind of people they are.”For them to let us take measurements of their houses and give us advice on plant mixes and other areas of the business is just unbelievable,” Bryan said. “They are so unselfish.”P & K Nursery started with just two houses that were built by Bryan and his dad. “My dad figured out a way to bend the pipes for the houses, and I could do the welding,” Bryan said. “We worked together to build them like we wanted, and it worked out great.”Kristy said the cost savings was so significant that they could build four houses for the same price that most people would have to pay for one. But getting the greenhouses built was just one of the first obstacles they faced. They also were hit with a hurricane and a substantial worm infestation that first year of operation.”But things turned out good, despite it all,” Kristy said. “We grew 850 ferns that first year and sold every one of them. We put everything back into the business and built two more houses. Bryan built six more house the year after that, then 10 and now we’re building four more.”When construction is complete, the Schells will have a total of 24 houses with more than 400,000 square feet of greenhouse space.The Schells said they concentrate on producing quality plants. They don’t want to be known for having the most or the biggest plants, Kristy said, “we want to be known for having the most beautiful plants.”And just like the pride they take in their three children, Dustin, 13, Ashley, 12, and Rebekah, 9, the Shells are pleased with the success of their business which keeps on growing. And like their greenhouse business, the Schell family is getting larger. They are expecting their fourth child this month.The Schells said so far they have made money each year from their greenhouse business, each time putting money back into the business so it can grow. Eventually, Bryan hopes to come home and work on the farm full time with Kristy and the children. He’d like to expand the business to include trees grown in a pot-in-pot system.Kristy said they had no idea that their business would grow so big, so fast, but added that she only sees it getting better.”The storms and hurricanes scare us to death because we only live 15 miles from the coast,” she said. “Since we started the business, we’ve had five hurricanes. And even though we’ve had trouble with worms and things, we’ve been able to sell about everything we’ve grown.”In addition to their hard work on the farm, the Schells also spend a lot of time playing sports together. Both parents have coached softball or baseball teams their children played on, and Bryan serves as a member of the Baldwin County Young Farmers Committee.”I really think there’s no limit to what we can do with the greenhouses,”Bryan said. “It’s just a matter of how big you want your business to be.”