A Tribute to a Gardening Legend

We lost a gardening legend last week. John Ferguson, founder of Nature’s Way Resources, passed away on Oct. 31.

John started his career in the oil industry. After years of working internationally, he began a landscape company to stay closer to home. Several decades ago he suffered a severe reaction to a common fungicide. It nearly killed him and it took six months to recover. That experience sent him down the path of organic gardening.

He built his landscape company into Nature’s Way Resources, a supplier of premium organic compost and soil amendments, based out of Conroe.

Some years ago he bought a piece of property in Fayette County north of La Grange. I got to know John through my gardening column. In 2021, he invited me out to his place and took me on a tour.

He had been transforming it into a native plant preserve. I was amazed at how he could spot rare native plants in the brush while strolling along in his four wheeler. At the time, he was propagating native elderberry bushes, and he sent me home with a few.

John was passionate about building soil resilience and eliminating toxins from the foods we eat and the landscapes we enjoy.

The organic gardening world is full of a lot of people who might be described as eccentric hippies, not that there’s anything wrong with that. But John was different. He was an entrepreneur.

He often told a story about how he tried getting a loan to buy a front-end loader for his new compost business. He tried explaining to bankers how he wanted to collect tree trimmings and convert it into compost that he would offer for sale. John said the bankers all laughed at him.

“Haul that stuff to a landfill or burn it,” they said.

No bank would loan him the money. Undaunted, John raised money by selling bonds to his friends. Now almost 40 years later, his business has grown into one of Texas’ premier suppliers of organic compost, mulch and soil amendments.

Thankfully, John’s son Ian is carrying on the legacy at Nature’s Way Resources. If you’re ever in the Conroe area, check out their business, which includes an awesome nursery specializing in native plants. Find them online at www.natureswayresources. com.

Look for John’s obituary on Page D3 of today’s paper.