By LEAH WEATHERSBY

Ask Wally Kerwin, owner of Swanson's Nursery in Crown Hill, what it has been like to run the business the past quarter-century, and he will freely admit mistakes have been made.

Having already had careers in sales and banking, Kerwin, now 61, thought he was ready to run his own show when, in 1976, he bought Swanson's from Ted Swanson, son of the store's founder.

"I fancied myself an entrepreneur and I was looking for a business I could afford," said Kerwin, explaining that while he gardened as hobby, he hadn't necessarily been looking for a gardening store to buy, just a retail business of some kind.

"I was in my early 30s and I was thinking I knew what was going on. That's the funniest part," he recalls. "I was really caught up in what a beautiful place (Swanson's Nursery) was and how much fun it was. I didn't have a strong profit motive."

Fortunately for Kerwin and his customers, he and his store survived his early inexperience. Today, Swanson's is a thriving business that is currently on pace to have its best-ever year in terms of sales.

The retail nursery continues to operate on the six-acre site at 9701 15th Ave. NW, where founder August Swanson established the business in 1924.

On this particular sunny spring day, the store is bustling with customers and a large staff. Kerwin, who employs as many as 120 people during the peak months, is quick to acknowledge his workers' contribution to Swanson's success. He describes his employees as more than just professional and knowledgeable. They truly enjoy gardening. "It's their life's passion," he said.

Over the years, Kerwin has made changes to Swanson's, including the addition of a cafe in the '80s and a gift shop in the '90s.

Kerwin's daughter, Karen, owns the gift shop, which is called Trellis. Living proof that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Karen Kerwin decided to open her business while still in her mid-20s.

"I told her I thought she was crazy. I did everything I could to discourage her" - including charging her rent, Wally Kerwin said. Karen persisted in launching the gift shop anyway and today, the Swanson's owner says he is proud to be the father of a thriving businesswoman.

"She's more successful in a shorter period of time than I've ever dreamed of being," he said. These days, Wally Kerwin is focusing more on fun and less on business, though that must be a challenge given that his Crown Hill home is literally right next to the nursery. In order to get away from his work, he bought a second house in Olympia where he likes to spend days off.

And yes, Kerwin still gardens for fun - but he insists that he isn't a horticultural guru. Kerwin offers no tips on gardening except the one that is perhaps the most important of all: have fun.

"If you don't enjoy and don't love it, why would you do it?" he asks. "From that standpoint, it just seems to flow easily and be common sense. I'm not a great gardener, but I would say I'm a great lover of gardens."