Felger's

Felger's located off Dupont Road is a third generation business in Fort Wayne, IN. Started by Grandpa Felger on land where he grew up it is now run by son Jerry who is known by many as the King of Peat, along with wife Dee Dee and their children who are working in the office and the field. The fourth generation of Felger's are already riding in the loaders and wearing company hoodies.

Grandson Matt is responsible for the hardscape development and he has done a fine job. Felger's boasts one of the tri state's largest selections of hardscape products. Their display area is retail friendly, well planned, amazingly representative of their various product lines and has a knowledgeable sales staff. In addition we can meet our customers there and see all the materials to take the guessing out of hardscape selection.

Three different product lines of pavers and wall stone including Unilock and Belgard are on display. A grill enclosure with a stainless steel drop in grill, various free standing walls with columns and caps along with a swell fire pit are just a few of the items in the elaborate examples awaiting perusal.

Matt's goal is to have every product they sell all encapsulated in one display area and he is well on his way. The landscaping industry is bursting with manufacturers of pavers and block. The shape, color and variety of these products is mind blowing. Looking at the new paver and block catalogues is eye candy for even those with minimal interest. It is a great time to be designing and installing landscaping as we have never had such an abundance and variety of materials with great accessibility and reasonable pricing.

When I first got in this business state of the art meant upgrading retaining walls from used railroad ties to rough cut timbers. Installing boulder outcroppings was once considered out of the box and we had to dig through farmers rock piles to get the boulders or unearth them in the fields. Or years ago if you wanted something exceptional and your client could afford it you could import some rocks from Wisconsin or the Carolina's and Tennessee, there were no places like Fort Wayne Rocks or Felger's.

As my career winds down my job is actually getting better and better, more challenging with a wider palette of materials and better educated customers who have seen the explosion of hardscape and are anxious to renovate their gardens with 21st century ideas and materials. It is easy to maintain a passion for your job when your job is exciting and rewarding.