There are numerous outlets for anything you might need for your garden and supplies and most equipment is available at home improvement stores, discount stores and even department stores. However, there is something available at the gardening store that is probably going to be missing at all other places and that is good gardening advice. Sure, those other places may know how the equipment works or long the seed take to germinate, but without reading the package can they tell you what other plants compliment them in the garden.?

Many times the owners of the gardening store have been around the business for years gathering tips and information that may not be available in books on gardening. Store employees are also usually required to know at least something about gardening so they can answer questions from customers. After all, that is why customers visit a gardening store for the advice they can get as well as the supplies.

Many of the small hometown gardening stores have been swallowed up by larger national chains that include a garden supply center in their product mix. These can offer many of the same items as the traditional gardening store and due to buying power can offer similar items cheaper, but they usually lack the understanding that years of working in the garden help others accumulate.

Some Gardeners Take Advice To The Masses

While some previous owners of gardening store have sold out and embraced retirement, others have chosen to take their advice to those who can really use it…the chains that bought out their business. They can still stay in touch with some of their previous customers and still provide good information based on years of experience to a significantly larger number of customers than used to show up at their gardening store.

For most of them it was the love of gardening and working with their hands in the outdoors that prompted them to open the gardening store in the first place. Simply because they decide to retire from business owner does not reduce their affection for working in the industry. By going to work for larger outlets they can still keep their hands in the dirt while reducing the responsibility of owning their own business and remain in contact with some of their previously loyal customers. Former gardening store owners usually were in the gardening business because they loved what they did and were willing to help others enjoy that same labor.