Episode 63: Alex Luscombe, Lukas Nursery

In this latest installment of The Growing Revolution, we spoke with Alex Luscombe who is one of the managers at Lukas Nursery & Butterfly Encounter in Oviedo, Florida. Their nursery is one of the top 100 independent garden centers in the USA based on total sales, and it takes a small army of around 40 people to get the job done.
Alex explains how the town of Oviedo itself, was founded by Paul Lukas and his family in the early 1900's as Slovakian immigrants. Later, Lukas Nursery was started by the Lukas family members with Paul Jr as President. They have had steady growth as Oviedo has grown as a suburb of Orlando. In the 2000's, they added a 4000 sq ft butterfly encounter where they have many species of butterfly and the plants that they love to eat and reproduce on. After being inspired by their visit, guests can purchase the same plants and even starter butterfly cocoons to start their own pollinator space.
Besides being a destination for school groups and families for tours, Lukas Nursery also has a Fall Festival event where they bring in food trucks, vendors, activities and games for all. Come Christmas time, tree sales profits are donated to local charities, so the Lukas family knows all about spreading karma, and giving back to the community. Alex explains that one of the benefits of working at Lukas Nursery is the family atmosphere. Everyone feels like they are an extended part of the Lukas family, which is still family run to this day.
Oviedo is North East of Orlando and Lukas Nursery is happy to see everyone, and families can visit anytime before 3:30pm to see the butterflies. Groups are required to book in advance and we recommend calling early. Their wait can be up to 6 months!
We greatly appreciate Alex for making the time to speak with us. Please subscribe to our podcast, as we have more great episodes coming in the future.

[@livingtherufflife]

Oviedo FL love Lukas Nursery. When i moved out of state, and would go back to visit Orlando - I stop at Lukas to buy a huge bag of worm castings, great prices and would try to stuff my car with other garden supplies for my two day trek back. Miss this nursery, helpful staff & love the plants!❤

[@SmartPots]

Thanks for sharing!!

[@Spenceham-km3nv]

hey bud what would happen if someone used the sea cucumber DNA and the millipede DNA to fill in the gaps of every farm animals genomes

[@SmartPots]

Sounds like a... terrible idea. Selective breeding is fine, DNA manipulation sounds like opening Pandora's Box