The Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) is proud to announce that it is the recipient of a generous $250,000 donation from the Peter Orum Family, Midwest Groundcovers, LLC, St. Charles, Illinois and Midwest Trading Horticultural Supplies, Inc., near Virgil, Illinois. This donation will create the Orum—Midwest Research Fund within the HRI Endowment.
When discussing the establishment of the Orum—Midwest Research Fund Mr. Orum noted, “Many years ago we established an HRI fund in honor of my mentor in plant propagation, John Wilde and some years later we established a fund in honor of my parents, Lydia and Palle H. Orum; and on the birthdays of these honorees we keep building the funds.
In the nineties, I served on the HRI Board and was Vice President and President for several years. Because of HRI, the nursery industry has clout both within government and academics. HRI itself has real resources to put down when asked to do necessary things. So now it is HRI’s 50 year anniversary and what better time could it be for the Orum Family and the Midwest Companies to join together and establish a substantial HRI fund."
Midwest Groundcovers is deeply rooted in traditions of growth and innovation. When Peter Orum immigrated to the United States in 1965, he brought with him a deep knowledge and tradition of horticulture. This he gained from his experiences and training on the two acre nursery of his father, Palle Orum, in Jutland, Denmark, his nursery apprenticeships at Spejlborg and Vilvorde Nurseries and his education at the Vilvorde Horticulture School in Copenhagen. Peter had enlisted in the Danish Army, Corp of Engineers, worked through the ranks and became an Engineer Officer. Much of the organizational systems and construction at the Midwest companies stems from what was learned in the Corp of Engineers. Most importantly, Peter had an entrepreneurial spirit and a vision of the course his life would follow – a journey that would be defined by hard work, passion and a fearless drive to succeed.
Midwest Groundcovers LLC is an industry leader in the propagation, growing, and wholesale distribution of quality container nursery stock. The company operates over 600 acres of state-of-the-art nursery production facilities at five locations in St. Charles, Illinois, Virgil, Illinois and Glenn, Michigan. Each year, these facilities produce millions of container grown plants including more than 100 different ground cover varieties; over 250 species of Local Ecotype Native Plants identified as Natural Garden Natives™, 140 regional Midwest native species of which some are naturally occurring selections; more than 500 varieties of perennials and ornamental grasses; and over 170 varieties of deciduous shrubs, native shrubs, broadleaf evergreens, hardy shrub roses, conifers and vines.
Midwest Trading Horticultural Supplies, Inc. is a horticultural hard goods supplier and fabricator, headquartered in Virgil Illinois approximately fifty-five miles west of Chicago. The Company specializes in the production of potting soils, engineered soils, rooftop mixes, bark mulches and composts in addition to re-wholesaling other nursery and landscape products. They operate two material pick-up yards, one located at the headquarters in Virgil, and another fifteen miles east in nearby St. Charles and have a 40 acre barge terminal production facility in Ottawa along the Illinois River. Midwest Trading has served the Green Industry in Chicagoland and the Midwest States for more than thirty years, and takes great pride in the high quality products and services that they provide to their customers.
HRI's mission is to direct, fund, promote and communicate horticultural research, which increases the quality and value of ornamental plants, improves the productivity and profitability of the nursery and landscape industry, and protects and enhances the environment. HRI is an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) tax-exempt research and educational foundation. To learn more about HRI visit
www.HRIResearch.org.
