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Rick Vuyst retires after more than 4 decades of helping West Michigan garden

His puns kept us learning and laughing for years.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — "Gardens are a vision, that's why we call them a kick in the plants, and you know, the great thing about gardens is that they are always changing...like our lives," said Rick Vuyst during a 13 ON YOUR SIDE Green Thumb segment years ago.

Every garden path has an ending, and every ending has a lesson. For more than 25 years, Rick was our gardening expert here at 13 ON YOUR SIDE starting in 1994, sharing his insights in a weekly Green Thumb segment, as well as 30 years with his popular radio show.

Rick worked at Flowerland for 46 years, starting in 1976, and is now leaving the company. His passions go beyond plants—he has a love for physical fitness that really developed when he became a runner at the age of 50 and when he set out to pass the Army Physical Fitness Test while writing his second book, "Operation Rumination". Rick has also written the books "I Just Wet My Plants" and "I Need to Change My Plants".

Rick joined the 13 ON YOUR SIDE Mornings team on Wednesday to reflect on his career and look ahead to retirement.

"It feels strange to me," he said of being retired after four decades. 

"What's really struck me, Meredith, is that we taught people a lot about plants, but I learned over time that people forget 99% of what you say, but they'll never forget how you made them feel. And plants make us feel great, they're important in our lives," he said.

In his retirement, Rick will be pursuing his passion for photography. He will be a 2022 ArtPrize artist to showcase the photos he took along Pere Marquette Beach.

A career spanning more than four decades, bringing us so many smiles. Thank you, Rick!

Credit: Meredith TerHaar

   

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