Shifting from a career in the field of medicine, Ellen Colodney, MD desired a new profession serving the environment. So, in 1999, she opened Wetland Plants in Edenton, North Carolina. Colodney’s goal was to produce wetland and aquatic plants to be used for stormwater, wastewater, salt marsh, and shoreline projects. She also saw this opportunity as a means to establish a supply chain on the eastern United States for Native Wetland Plants.
Beginning her new horticulture career, Colodney, signed her first a contract with the N.C. Department of Transportation. The contract required her to produce and ship a plant species that no one else in the country was growing. Wetland Plants went on to become well known in the local construction industry as a result of their NCDOT contract and high-quality plants. In fact, the company’s revenue grew at a steady pace from 1999 until 2005. With the downturn of the economy in the 2000s, Wetland Plants profit hit a slump.
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