Flowers and a smile

Southern Living, May 1999 by Bender, Steve

How do independent garden centers compete with the big boys? It comes down to variety, service, and the personal touch.

They're the places your dad took you to buy the magnolia that blooms right outside your window. They're the places that introduced you to more azaleas, roses, and bulbs than you ever dreamed existed. They're where your mom went to have someone identify that nasty caterpillar devouring her petunias. They're the South's independent garden centers. The good news is, they still thrive today.

How do they do it? How do these mom-and-pop operations compete with national chains, million-dollar advertising budgets, and prices that are lower than a gopher's wine cellar? Answer-by supplying the things that the big chains can't. To see a great example, drive 15 miles west of Tyler, Texas, and visit Blue Moon Gardens near Chandler.

You can almost hear the sun rise in the piney hushed woods where Sharon Lee Smith and Mary Wilhite set up shop in 1984. At first, they specialized in potted herbs. But in 1992, they bought the 85-year-old farmhouse next door and opened a retail garden center. Replete with herbs, vines, perennials, heirloom roses, and Texas native plants, it features an intimate and quirky display garden that feels like your aunt's front yard.

The relaxed family atmosphere draws customers from afar. "You have to go out of your way to get to us," admits Mary. "A lot of folks drive here from Dallas or Shreveport just for the country experience. They'll hang around, bring picnic lunches, and walk through the garden. Our display beds are also trial gardens-they show the way plants actually perform."

Birdhouses, wind chimes, pottery, and ornamental iron handmade by Texas artisans decorate the plantings. "We always buy locally if we can," she says. "That way, Sharon and I know the artists and can tell customers stories about them. It adds a personal touch"

In northern Florida, Tallahassee Nurseries has been helping gardeners achieve success since 1938. Gene Ellis, a current owner, took over from his mother and dad in 1964. Over the past quarter-century, his business has grown with the rest of the booming Sunbelt. "We used to be out in the country, and now we're not," he notes. "This whole town just grew up around us."

Key to the nursery's success, he feels, is an unchanging focus on quality plants. "Big chains do a good job with fertilizers and chemicals," he explains. "But what saves us is that we deal in plants that are regional. What grows in Seattle won't grow in Tallahassee."

Are Southern gardeners becoming more sophisticated? "Definitely!" Gene replies. "Thirty years ago, we'd have thousands of redtips, azaleas, and shore junipers on display. Now, the most of anything we'll display may be 20 to 25, but we'll display hundreds of different plants." Keeping up with the newest plants and answering customers' questions demand a staff of trained horticulturists, many of whom have been with Gene more than a decade. "Everybody who works here knows and loves plants," he says.

In Griffin, Georgia, paying a call on The Greenery seems like dropping in on "The Yard of the Month." Trees, shrubs, grass, and perennials embrace the wideporched house that serves as a gift shop. A few yards away sits the brick home of Jim and Lynn Mock, who run the nursery with their daughter, Rebecca. They'll forgive you if you overlook the house in favor of the spectacular rose and perennial garden sitting in front of it. The garden is such a hit with customers that many get married there.

Things weren't quite so rosy when the Mocks started out with a single plastic greenhouse in 1983. That first winter, colder than the stare of a reptile, killed most of their plants. Yet the Mocks persevered. "When you love landscaping, as Jim and I do, you stick with it," explains Lynn. "Jim's motto is, `As long as you don't quit, you'll never fail.'"

Today, loyal customers celebrate the Mocks' success. Many make the hour's trip south from Atlanta to peruse an outstanding selection of perennials, herbs, trees, shrubs, silk flowers, and garden furniture.

"We cater to our customers," Lynn says proudly. "They can bring in their empty planters and pots, and we'll plant them up and have them ready to go. We'll even make house calls." Being able to help customers choose the right plants and answer their questions is another plus. "We view it as a calling," she says. "If we have the knowledge, it's our duty to share it and help people be successful."

Folks in the central Mississippi town of Kosciusko love plants too. Natchez Trace Gardens has a lot to do with that. Its expansive greenhouse range appears incongruous in a city of about 7,000, but the high quality and extensive variety of homegrown perennials, hanging baskets, poinsettias, and other plants lures customers from as far away as Jackson and Memphis. Many cities 10 times as large can't boast of a garden center like this one.

According to co-owners Mark Terkanian and Lori Hitchcock, growing most of the plants themselves is a big advantage. "If there's a new, hot plant that people want, we can grow it," says Lori. And they'll order plants they don't grow. "If someone's looking for a special tree, I'll order a dozen. When you offer that kind of service, word travels fast."