It is impossible to drown a tomato plant.
That’s what I always thought during my years growing little cherries on the back porch every summer in Ruidoso. You need plenty of water and sunshine — that’s about it — until the subject came up with the new owners and operators of Conley’s Nursery and Landscaping, Victoria and Robby Bomer, who had a different opinion.
“Actually, the plant will let you know,” Robby said. “You’ll see a yellowing or curling of the leaves which is the giveaway. You can do a little pinch-test on the dirt to find out what the water content of the soil is like.”
Robby picked up a tiny piece of soil to demonstrate water content and rubbed it gently between his thumb and index finger. “Squeeze it tight with your finger and see if you get any moisture.”
Robby and Victoria seem to be in plant heaven these days. They spend their time taking care of thousands of tomato plants, geraniums, petunias, vegetables and flower baskets. Plants are everywhere inside the Conley’s greenhouse waiting to be adopted.
“We love this place and what live plants mean to the community,” Victoria said. “Our entire family, including our parents and our three children, are all involved in the business every day. We’re excited about what we’re building here.”
There seems to be a new vibe at Conley’s. A lot has changed since the Bomer family took over last fall for longtime second-generation owner Ted Conley—except the name.
“We’re keeping the name Conley’s,” Robby said. “Ted has been very gracious to us and we think there is a sense of tradition to the name ‘Conley’ and the quality that stands behind it.”
Robby and Victoria had been living in Muleshoe, Texas, while thinking about purchasing the business for several years from Ted, but another job opportunity forced their hand to finally make the purchase.
“I was offered the assistant principal’s position at the high school,” Victoria said. “That’s when we really started getting serious about the idea of combining my new job with something that Robby could get excited about—landscaping and design. My new job and owning Conley’s sort of fell into place for our family all at the same time.”
Robby manages a staff of six employees doing yard and tree services, landscaping and maintaining the nursery. Victoria has more time to spend on plants during summer break from school. Their two sons, Lincoln and Nolan, stay busy carrying out purchased plants to the customer’s vehicles—a known practice of customer service that has been a Conley’s tradition.
“We want to own and operate this business for a long time and contribute to this community,” Robby said about their shared family goals. “Our hope is to one day hand down this business to our kids.”
Which might have been the same idea the late Wilber Conley had when he opened the nursery so many decades ago—handing it down to Ted.
Time to see what the Bomer family can grow.
Ruidoso News columnist Tim Keithley writes about the people and events in the community. If you have a story idea, contact Tim at [email protected].