Background

Igneous Rock Gallery began as an outgrowth of Wertz Landscapes and Hardscapes, located near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Outdoor living and home improvement television shows have fed public demand for water features. Retail garden centers have capitalized on this trend, offering simple and inexpensive do-it-yourself kits the average homeowner can buy and install on a weekend afternoon.

As a veteran landscaping and hardscaping contractor, introducing small water features to our repertoire always seemed like a good idea. But so many of the mass produced products on the market have a cliche' or cut rate feel to them. You know what I'm talking about: the frog sitting on a lilly pad with a stream of water shooting from its mouth, or the slightly tilted concrete lady pouring water from a pitcher.

If we were going to introduce small water features, the product would have to be something exceptional that adequately reflects our aesthetic taste and sense of style.

Introduction to Basalt

In the spring of 2006 I came across a small basalt column water fountain that had been installed near the entrance of a bonsai studio. It stopped me in my tracks! "Wow! What is this?", I asked the proprietor.

The answer was astounding! "It is volcanic rock, millions of years old."
Finally I saw something to incorporate into my own landscape and introduce to my most discriminating customers!

It's not just the look of the natural rock that makes it so special. It is also fascinating to know what this material originates from -- molten magma below the earth's crust that simmered for millenniums on end until the earth could hold it no more. Each unique column took on its own shape as the molten mass cooled and fractured into individual columns. Then colored sediment permeated each column’s surface over eons, causing mottled hues and shades only God's paintbrush could render.

With the phenomenal demand for small water features, we saw no other product that could compare to the look and style of the natural volcanic rock. It is truly in a league of its own.

The Birth of Igneous Rock Gallery

In the winter of 2007/2008 John Lauver and I began to plan the layout for our back to back 2008 Pennsylvania Home Show and 2008 PA Garden Expo landscape displays.   John had moved up through the ranks to become my most valued, capable and tenured employee.   John is very creative, and by this time I recognized the value of including him in the design process whenever possible.

Over breakfast at The Peppermill we discussed the need for a focal point of interest that would set our display apart from the others.  We remembered the basalt fountain and decided to explore that possibility.   John sketched the exhibit design on the back of a paper placemat, including two basalt water features.  (In hindsight, I wish I had saved that placemat!)  We bought the rock and all the components and built them at home in my garage just in time to be debuted at our show exhibits. The public response at the shows was very gratifying, and energizing!   

In the spring of 2008 we opened Igneous Rock Gallery at our present location, but had no regular store hours.  With a full slate of landscape/hardscape obligations, John and I looked forward to rainy days and the opportunity to steal away to the gallery for a few hours whenever possible.

By the winter of 2008/2009 I felt dissatisfied with the amount of time we had spent on Igneous Rock Gallery.  It would never become what it could be without our full focus and commitment.   After discussing it with my wife and getting her blessing, I called John to tell him the direction we were moving and ask for his support.  John was all for it!  Good thing, as he is a vital component to this endeavor.  It would not be the same without him on board!

By this time I counted the geologist who mines the Okanogan Highland rock a friend, so told him about my decision.  He invited us to come visit the quarry when the snow thawed and get a first hand look at the rock in its natural setting.  It was nice finally meeting in person this larger than life character I had gotten to know in cyberspace and on the other end of the phone! 

By the time we made the trip to the quarry in May of 2009 Igneous Rock Gallery had finally become our sole focus.

Acknowledgements:

Creating unique products with this wonderful and rare natural material is a fun way to make a living.  The opportunity to meet so many interesting people who share our appreciation for aesthetics…   this daily creative outlet… these are gifts for which we are grateful.  I feel blessed to be able to thoroughly enjoy coming to work every day.  

To those who expressed encouragement and offered support along the way, “Thank you!” Special thanks is due to our customers, for your purchases of course, but also for your feedback and referrals.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

While I am in the thanksgiving mode, I am grateful to Jim Doyle, owner of Nature’s Way Nursery (www.natureswaybonsai.com) in Linglestown, PA.  When you drive up Jim’s bamboo lined lane you feel like you are leaving Pennsylvania and entering Japan. Jim discovered Okanogan Highland basalt columns while out west on one of his many bonsai adventures.  If he had not exposed me to this wonder of nature in the first place I doubt I would have ever found it on my own.

Jim and Nature’s Way veteran Gary Peck had already made a huge influence on my approach to landscaping and plant selection before exposing me to this rock. They have elevated my game and I aspire to be half as good at our craft as they are at theirs.

Thanks to Gene Wertz (name sound familiar?), the owner of this building … the best landlord ever!

Thanks to Greg Prescott, who mines the Okanagan Highland rock along with his partner, Bob. We sure appreciate the great treatment. Thanks as well to Cynthia, who introduced us to our quarry source. What a peach!

Thanks to Jim Boles (www.jimbolesdesigns.com) for his creative inspiration and helpful feedback. 

Robert Wertz | Owner