Through 20 years, local plant business has blossomed

GardenCenter824.jpg
GardenCenter824.jpg

Sharon Boese is in her ninth year at the North Cedar location in Hillsboro. The original nursery was located on D Street.

The sights and sounds of spring are evident at the Garden Center.

Hues of yellow, red and purple lie scattered like splotches of paint on a canvas.

GardenCenter825.jpg Birds chirp in the trees as sunlight filters through the greenhouse.

This year, the Garden Center in Hillsboro is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Owner Sharon Boese said she enjoys what she does, although it takes work.

?Even though it is difficult to be a small store, I do enjoy it,? she said. ?What I like best is the variety of different plants that you get to work with.?

The Garden Center carries annual flowers, garden vegetables, fruit plants, perennials, trees and shrubs. It also offers a lawn and landscape installation service in the fall.

?We?re a unique little store with a big selection,? Boese said. ?We really do have a lot of different varieties of things.?

Due to the weather, the Garden Center is seasonal, open during the spring and fall. Typically, it opens in March and runs through the beginning of June and will re-open during September and October.

Boese was involved in the landscape program at Washing?ton State University in Pullman for three years. She finished her education at Kansas State University, graduating with a horticulture degree in 1976.

Boese?s involvement with plants began before a permanent greenhouse existed in Hillsboro.

?I worked for a store in Newton, and I would bring a greenhouse and set it up in Hillsboro for just April and May,? Boese said.

In spring 1989, Boese, who lives with husband Alan on a farm near Lehigh, decided to set up a greenhouse in Hillsboro that would be closer to home.

?It?s a very labor-intensive business,? she said. ?The closer you are to it, the better you are.?

The Garden Center was originally located on D Street. It has been at its current location for nine years.

Celebration of the 20th anniversary continues.

?We are celebrating every month on the 20th,? Boese said. ?We did in March, we?ll do it again in April and again in May.?

Festivities include door prizes, refreshments and specials. Annual flowers will be on special April 20.

The Garden Center is located at 316 N. Cedar. Hours are: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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