Four generations and growing

Origin - In the late part of the 19th century, a young British woman, Prudence, took an opportunity to nanny for a family moving from England to South Africa. There she fell in love, married and had four children. In addition to raising a family, she owned her own general store in the port city of Gqeberha. In the second decade of the 20th century, the family immigrated to the US and settled in McAlester, OK. In 1924 she opened a flower shop downtown and erected glass greenhouses on her property at the corner of D Street and Madison. An expert grower of orchids, violets and many other plants, she had cultivated in South Africa, her business grew as did her greenhouse range. Her youngest son, Walter Mann, entered into the business in the 1930s after completing a florist internship in Oklahoma City, where his flower delivery vehicles was a motorbike with a sidecar for boxed, long stem flowers.

Second Generation - Walter married Alene White and together, along with daughter Donna and sons David and Allen, continued to grow the business. The flower shop was relocated to 3rd and Wyndotte, an old gas station, they converted into a glass clad, mid mod retail shop and design space. Elegant holiday open houses were held, corsages were made for JFK’s visit in 1961, and dyed carnations were a hot commodity.

Third Generation - Allen and wife Ann, oversaw the expansion of the business in the early 80s to our current location on George Nigh Expressway. Allen became a leader and educator with the American Florist Association and Ann managed both the role of amazing mama to children, Jeff and Katie, as well as the flower shop. Allen guided the nursery business through the ups and downs of Oklahoma’s boom and bust economy and tirelessly worked to keep it all going. Mann’s Flower Shop aided in countless celebrations from births to end of life services, and all the beautiful, human moments in between. The Mann family was there to accompany those occasions with the beauty of plants and flowers. The retail flower shop and nursery closed in 2019 as the business shifted focus on serving and expanding our wholesale division. Allen and Ann continue to be a part of the day to day operations but also enjoy doting on their four granddaughters. .

Fourth Generation- Jeff Mann, our resident Renaissance man, entered the business in 2004 and has been instrumental in creating efficient systems and processes across the board. He continues to be the go to person to “fix-it”. Whether it is trouble shooting a finicky vent system, redoing the irrigation in a greenhouse, growing a crop for a holiday delivery date, or loading our wholesale routes, Jeff gets it done. Katie Mann Huskerson joined the Mann’s team in 2020 and heads up the perennial and OK native plants division. Additionally Katie runs Pollinators + Prairies, bringing beneficial garden design, installation, and education to residential clients.

Today Mann’s Greenhouses, Inc. employs a team of nine hardworking folks. We endeavor to deliver the same quality, intentionality and services, our founder and matriarch, Prudence Mann delivered at the onset of our family business. Here’s to a century of growing and more.

-The Mann Family