Page 424 - Jan 2019 MM

Growing
Business in Alabama
Gardening and marketing talents keep retail success flourishing
Sometimes a garden center isn’t just about perennials and trees and mulch. Sometimes all those elements combine with home décor and design services to create an extra special place for customers. That’s what’s going on up
in north Alabama.
It all started with Teresa and Darrell Johnson providing commercial interior plant services 30 years ago. “We were in businesses all over town. People find out that you are horticulturalists and they start asking you questions about their yards and houseplants,” says Teresa Johnson.
They added design and landscape installation services and began selling shrubs, trees, plants and garden/home accessories. And, voila, Johnsons Garden and Café is a destination retailer in the region.
Darrell does most of the growing and handles the installations and business management. Teresa focuses on landscape design and interior and exterior plant selection and does the buying. Daughter, Ashley Johnson Haydu, brings her own gardening interests (containers and roses), as well as marketing and event-planning skills. “She’s added a younger audience through Facebook, Instagram and e-mail, and she does most of the displays in the gift shop,” says Johnson.
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