Skagit Gardens Founder Jim Youngsman Passes Away
August 8, 2025 
Jim Youngsman, the founder of Skagit Gardens in Mt. Vernon, WA, passed away peacefully on July 18.
Jim’s passion for growing plants began at an early age. At 16, he built a backyard greenhouse where he grew tulips and sold them to local garden centers. He used the profits to pay his way through Washington State University, where he studied floriculture and horticulture and met Ruth, the love of his life. They shared 63 wonderful years together.
After earning a Master’s in Floriculture from Penn State, Jim began his career providing vocational training to inmates at Danbury State Correctional Facility. A brief move to Berkeley followed, then Jim and Ruth settled in Mount Vernon, WA, where they purchased 8 acres that became Skagit Gardens, primarily selling annuals and perennials to retail garden centers, landscapers, and wholesale growers in the U.S. and Canada. Their four children, Bill, Susan, Pam, and Matt all worked at the business, which expanded to more than 11 acres of greenhouses, 38 acres of field, and upwards of 250 seasonal employees before Jim and Ruth sold it in 1998.
Jim also served in the Washington State Legislature (1988–1990) and on several nonprofit and corporate boards. He and son Bill partnered for 22 years on real estate development projects, including Skagit I-5 Business Park and Twin Bridges Marina.
Youngsman was named Greenhouse Grower’s second-ever Grower of the Year in 1986. In the article, the Greenhouse Grower team noted that Jim “has demonstrated an ability to turn problems into opportunities in production, marketing, and financing. He has been open to new technology and new ideas in production and marketing.”
A memorial service will be held at Warm Beach Camp in Stanwood, WA, on Sunday, September 7 at 3:00 p.m. Gifts in Jim’s memory may be sent to Warm Beach Senior Community, 20420 Marine Drive, Stanwood, WA 98292. His obituary can be viewed at Obituary | James Ernest Youngsman of Stanwood, Washington | Gilbertson Funeral Home.
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