Ted Swanson, Longtime Lover Of Flowers - And People, Too

When Ted Swanson's three children think back to their youth, they can smell petunias, envision the pink blush of "Marjie roses" and feel the soft touch of fragile camellias in their hands.

As children of a florist, memories - like playing hide-and-seek in a rose garden or celebrating birthdays with guests each wearing a specially arranged corsage - always have a backdrop of flowers, said daughter Shirley Ferris.

Mr. Swanson, a longtime florist and resident in the Crown Hill neighborhood, died Monday (June 27). He was 83.

Born in 1910 in St. Paul, Mr. Swanson moved to the Seattle area in 1922. His parents, both experienced florists, started Swanson's Land of Flowers, which is still in business today.

He often helped out his parents as a child, hopping on streetcars to hawk armloads of flowers. He graduated from Ballard High School and went to the University of Washington, considering careers in business or law, said his daughter, Shirley Ferris of Vashon Island.

For a short time, he returned to St. Paul, where he worked in a florist shop with some friends. There, he decided he wanted to follow in his parents' footsteps in the florist business.

In 1937, he married his wife, Frances, whom he had met coincidentally at the Rose Bowl. They settled into a cottage near Mr. Swanson's parents' home and the business.

Mr. Swanson took over as manager of the business in 1940, also trading homes with his parents in a symbolic "old country" transfer of the business, Ferris said.

Mr. Swanson approached his work with a mixture of reverence, patience and simple appreciation, Ferris recalled. She remembered one Easter morning when her father woke her up and pointed to a silver-cedar tree with baby cones hanging from the branches.

"They looked like Easter eggs," Ferris said. "He had an eye for wonder."

His approach to his work mirrored his approach to his life. "Dad never separated work from family from play. It was all one," said Ferris.

He taught his children that all living things - plants as well as people - need to be taken care of and nurtured, said his daughter, Marjie Gustafson of London.

That translated into the high standards he held for employees in treating customers, said Ferris, who like her siblings, worked at the florist shop and in the greenhouses.

"He showed uncompromising integrity in all areas of his life. . . . He had a quiet energy and generosity and kindness about him that was there every minute of his life," she said, remembering how he would go out of his way to make a special arrangement or to give only the best quality flowers to his customers.

Mr. Swanson also loved helping others to appreciate flowers and simple natural beauty, remembered Glenna Bennett who first met Mr. Swanson as a customer and neighbor. She then joined him as an employee in 1967 when she agreed to help out for a week. She continues to work there today.

"He had a great love for plants but a real wisdom in teaching," said Bennett. "I think it was that his love for the business was contagious."

He retired in 1976 but with his wife continued to live on the land by Swanson's for several years.

They eventually moved to a nursing home on Vashon Island where Mr. Swanson often created flower arrangements to decorate the home. He continued his gardening almost up until his death, a pair of clippers never far out of reach, said Ferris.

Survivors besides his wife and daughters include a son, Dick, of Bainbridge Island and seven grandchildren.

Services and burial were private. A memorial service was yesterday.

Contributions can be made to Young Life Seattle or Friends of the Volunteer Park Conservatory.