[From the website of
Jan Spek Nurseries:] The history of Jan Spek Rozen starts in 1890. That was the year that twenty year old Jan Spek settled in Boskoop, the famous Dutch floriculture town. Jan was born on May 28, 1869 in Nieuwkoop, another town in the same region. He loves to explore his surroundings and discovers Boskoop on one of his trips. His enthusiasm for floriculture is awakened and het sets about learning from growers, with the intention of later starting out on his own. He is drawn not only to the nurseries in Boskoop, the lovely
Aartje Nijveld, Boskoop born and bred, manages to steal his heart. Jan, founder of the Spek dynasty, is in every way enterprising. He knows not only how to acquire a nursery, but also how to win the girl. Aartje Nijveld becomes his wife and the nursery in Boskoop starts.
In the beginning, trade is only domestic but before long sales are made abroad. Successfully too, because it turns out that Jan Spek is an excellent businessman. In 1912, the nurseries are expanded and Jan builds a beautiful mansion, spacious enough for the whole family, which now includes eight children.
The interest in the rose begins in the early 1900s. Jan Spek introduces a couple of new rose cultivars and a number of new rootstocks. The most well-known are the ‘Spek’s Improved’ and the ‘Spek’s Supreme’. However, even more famous is the ‘Rosa Rugosa’ rootstock,
discovered by Nijveld and introduced onto the market by Jan Spek
