If You Grow ‘em. . . They Will Come

Dahlia’s on South State Street

Williams sits watching his flower stand

Anyone driving to or from Fairhaven on South State Street would be hard pressed not to notice a little stand on the side of the road selling Dahlias.

All this summer, Ricky Lee Williams, with the help of Joan Donaldson, has been selling his Dahlias to friends, neighbors, and passers-by. Williams, who was born and raised locally, retired from a career on the Bering Sea, returned home and after a period of time began a garden. “I took a 180° from being a fisherman, and now I stare at dirt. It’s very therapeutic for me—it keeps me busy.”

Williams says that he has regulars from the community, and enjoys greeting and getting to know them. Many who stop say they have driven past several times and finally decided to stop. If someone takes the time to stop and smell the flowers, they will find they’ve found a new friend in Williams, who is ever ready to share advice or a laugh. Alan Stein comes regularly to buy flowers. “He is here like clockwork.” Williams says. Stein calls Williams a “jewel of the community.

Donaldson makes sure the flowers look their best.

The sign advertises ten Dahlias for $5, a price considerably lower than normal. Williams explained that the price is low because his goal is not simply to make a profit. “I’m not trying to make money off of anybody.” he said, “. . . it’s about sharing the beauty and all my hard work. That’s what it all comes down to.” 

Many times, passers-by simply see the sign and can’t pass up the offer. “I just love flowers,” said Jennifer Celements, a local resident. Lisa Nichols, who works in Fairhaven, said she “had to have some. . .they make me really happy.” As they pick out their flowers, Williams or Donaldson chat with them about the flowers and share their insight about how to grow them.

About six years ago, Donaldson and Williams planted four Dahlia tubers in the small area of soil in front of Williams condo. The plants didn’t do well, lacking the conditions to make them grow healthy. He then began planting a garden off the property, and it grew from there. He first planted sunflowers around the border of the garden, but after a while, switched to Dahlias. Because each plant produces many flowers, he began to give the flowers away. Then, he had an idea. 

“I decided, well heck, I’ll just throw up a sign and table in front of my condo to maybe sell a few.” And he did. 

Now he sits in a chair watching the stand and chatting with costumers. When he is not attending the stand, he is attending his gardens. He has two: one on East Laurel, off of Hannegan, and one on West Maplewood Avenue. Flowers are not the only thing Williams grows, he also grows a large assortment of fruits and vegetables as well, including lettuce, squash, apples, and grapes. 

Williams is very generous with his produce. He lets family and friends gather what they want, and if someone he doesn’t know would like some produce, he simply asks that they donate $5 and they can come get vegetables any time. In addition, this year he has donated over 1.000 pounds of produce to the food bank. “I just can’t keep receiving, receiving, you know? You gotta give back.”

When he returned from the Bering Sea, Williams had a problem with drug abuse and gardening helped him get back on track. He knew he couldn’t sit and do nothing, so he started working in the garden. Now, his Dahlias are a big part of his life and mean a lot to him. “I’m still just as passionate about it today as I was with my first original garden,” Williams stated. He does all of the work himself, with the exception of some help from his father and Donaldson. 

In the future, Williams hopes to build a website and go into the business of selling Dahlia tubers online. Each Dahlia plant can produce many tubers and each can be grown into a new plant. He once spent over $3,000 just buying tubers online, paying $5 or $5.50 each. His would be priced at around $3.