Saying ‘goodbye’ to downtown Gordonsville

Contributed
Published: July 24, 2008

To the editor,
I’ve spent the last couple of weeks immersed in chairing my state professional association’s annual re-certification tour. In this case, ‘green’ landscapes in Central Virginia were toured by designers certified by the Virginia Society of Landscape Designers (VSLD) and the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD). The response was overwhelmingly positive, with so many participants we had to turn many away, and also positive in the many kudos from other landscape designers for my clients and others who graciously allowed their gardens to be opened for the tour.
So I have not been able to call many of you at decent hours to let you know that sustainable landscape design, container gardens, ‘green’ weddings and events, and environmental education are now the total focus of The Gentle Gardener. For 12+ years on Main Street in Gordonsville, The Gentle Gardener retail store and workshop space has been our ‘walk-in portfolio’ - showcasing our mission and guiding principles, bringing us new friends, customers who became repeat customers, and also design clients. However, this particular location cannot be operated sustainably by The Gentle Gardener with the building’s current infrastructure. As The Gentle Gardener does not own the building, we cannot modify to make the operation more sustainable. So for now, the retail operation is being spun off, and spun down. By the end of July, 207 South Main Street will no longer house The Gentle Gardener. Phones, faxes, email and web contact info remain the same!
Luckily, what we do for our clients and constituencies that is our real passion we can do from the farm office at home. The only thing that I hope will change for our design/fine gardening clients is an increase in my availability to them.
Our growers are rightly concerned with the continuing refocus away from retail or demise of so many independent garden centers in our area, and that is the one bittersweet note for me. However, I am committing my knowledge and education as a business person to help our green industry be more sustainable and viable, not less.
Those of you who remember what Gordonsville was like when there were only banks, post office, liquor store, Brushwood School of Dance, Colonial Florist, Toliver House, Preddy Funeral Home and a Main Street full of empty store fronts… and then, The Gentle Gardener… do know and appreciate the role The Gentle Gardener played in making more reasons to visit Gordonsville daily, weekly, monthly. We have brought thousands of visitors to Gordonsville from garden shows and other outreach in DC, Richmond and elsewhere, but our primary focus has always been on the Piedmont of Central Virginia: the land, the landscapes, the community. You recognize the possibilities we helped our community realize.
Virginia R. Rockwell, VSLD
The Gentle Gardener
Certified Landscape Designer, Virginia Society of Landscape Designers