Lessons From a Horticulture Industry Giant: Remembering Glenn Goldsmith
June 21, 2022 
The greenhouse industry owes so much to those breeding pioneers who paved the way in developing the cutting-edge plant genetics and hybrid breeding techniques the industry relies on and builds its genetics foundation on today. Glenn Goldsmith, who passed away Dec. 17, 2021, is one of those early innovators Greenhouse Grower wishes to recognize for his contributions to the industry and his dedication to excellence.
“He had a passion, and he followed it without knowing where it was going to lead,” says Glenn’s son Joel Goldsmith. “He knew what he wanted to do, and he was able to be successful doing it.”
Glenn’s passion took him from a young boy trying out a few plant crosses with lilies to renting a rusty, weed-infested Gilroy, CA, greenhouse in 1962 to start Goldsmith Seeds, which would eventually grow to include operations in the U.S., Europe, Central America, and Africa. He was among the last of a small group of iconic breeders that launched hybrid flower breeding in the ’60s, and he was directly and indirectly responsible for 20 All-America Selections winners during his career. He also received the All-America Selections Medallion of Honor and FleuroSelect Laureat for his breeding efforts.
Credited as the creator of the original Pack trials, the precursor to what is now known as California Spring Trials, Glenn was the first to bring his top customers to his Gilroy site to see Goldsmith Seeds’ plants and those of its competitors grown in packs for side-by-side comparisons. It wasn’t unusual for Glenn to not only welcome his customers for a visit, but also his fellow breeder competitors.
“We would all cringe as he [Glenn] took them out into the greenhouse or into a field to show them what we were up to,” says Jeanine Bogard, an employee who worked at Goldsmith Seeds for 20 years. “I think he just liked to tease the competition because he knew we were ahead of the game and/or had more resources or talent available to make great things happen. You could always see a twinkle in his eye after he had a visit with a fellow breeder.”
See the Possibilities; Stoke the Fires of Originality
Bogard remembers how Glenn treated his employees with respect and encouraged them to think outside the box, be innovative, and do it better than the competition. He also encouraged his employees to get out from behind their desks and talk to each other, find out what others were working on, talk about the market, share ideas, collaborate, and challenge each other to bring forward solutions or innovations.
“Employee turnover [at Goldsmith Seeds] was very low, and those in the industry joked that someone had to die or retire for another person to get their foot in the door,” Bogard says. “Lucky for me, the company was going through a growth phase, and someone was retiring. Glenn set the bar high for us. It was ingrained in us that whatever we set out to accomplish, we had to do it well, otherwise it wasn’t worth doing.”
Joel says one of his father’s greatest attributes was seeing possibilities and then giving his employees, particularly his plant breeders, the freedom to operate. He encouraged them to do something out of the ordinary to see if it worked. He was all about creating something new and different that no one else had, Joel says.
See a Need; Fill a Need
Glenn’s original plan was to develop plant varieties and then license them to other companies for seed production and distribution, but early on he realized if he was going to be successful, he needed to sell his own seeds. In 1966, Goldsmith Seeds started its first seed production farm in Guatemala. At its height, the company ran three different farms in Guatemala that included more than 100 acres of greenhouses and employed around 2,500 employees.
Glenn was very good at seeing a need and finding ways to help, Joel says. He implemented on-site childcare and healthcare and wellness programs for his employees in Guatemala. After a 1976 earthquake destroyed employees’ cement-block homes, Glenn purchased a machine to manufacture cement blocks for his employees to use to rebuild. During Guatemala’s civil war that began in the ’60s, Goldsmith Seeds’ American employees working in Guatemala returned home for their safety. Instead of closing the Guatemala operations, Glenn chose to keep the businesses going with local employees at the helm.
In 1997, the government of Guatemala awarded Glenn the Guatemalan Peace Medallion for significant economic and social development contributions to the country, especially during the Guatemalan civil war. The Rotary Club of Gilroy awarded him the Service Above Self Award for his relief efforts after the Guatemalan earthquake.
Blaze Down the Road Not Taken
Glenn knew he wanted to be a nurseryman and plant breeder from a very young age, and fulfilling that desire led him down many different avenues and adventures during his lifetime. It is apparent he wanted the breeding program at Goldsmith Seeds to lead the way, not to follow an already well-trodden path. In a 1986 Chicago Tribune article, “Business is Flowering for Goldsmith Seeds”, by Joan Silverman, Glenn Goldsmith is quoted as saying: “We like to be first, to do different things. We don’t like to be an also-ran. For example, if someone has a variety of impatiens, and you come up with another one that’s very similar, all you can say is, ‘Well, now you can buy from us instead of them.’ We don’t like to be in that position. “When you’re the first one, it’s rather easy to make improvements.”
Sail on the Waves of Success
Toward the end of the Goldsmith Seeds era, you could say Glenn Goldsmith sailed off into the sunset. While three of his four sons ran the business, he and his wife Jane spent the winter months sailing down the coast of California, Central America, through the Panama Canal into the Caribbean, and finishing in Florida. Joel says they would always return in time for Glenn to help with plant evaluations in the spring and summer.
In 2008, after Goldsmith Seeds had done business for nearly 50 years, Syngenta Flowers acquired the company and carried on Glenn’s breeding legacy. Glenn passed away peacefully at his home on Kauai, Hawaii last December. He was 93.
Subscribe to eNewsletter
