Montgomery Opens Landscaping Shop in West Jefferson

By Joel Frady

After spending 10 years as a landscaper in Ashe County, Suzanne Montgomery took a cue that customers

had been giving her for years. Montgomery, an active landscaper for 30 years, said local customers told her they thought she should open a store so they could see the flowers and shrubs they are buying before the plants are installed.

Montgomery and her husband, Bill, took the advice to heart and, in early June, opened The Barn. Located at 215 Indian Lake Drive off of Highway 221, Montgomery describes the shop as "a landscape and garden center" that has other elements, such as accessories for the gardener including tools, pottery, concrete critters, water fountains and bird houses.

But for Montgomery, the business stems from her love for her "therapeutic" past time and her desire to help garner local interest in gardening.

"This has been a labor of love," she said of opening The Barn, which inhabits the building that formerly housed Shay's Woodworking. She hopes to hold more than shop in the 6,400 square foot facility, too, including seminars on gardening and classes for youth.

Montgomery said that she has seen the interest in gardening grow over the last decade, allowing her to enjoy her career while cultivating friendships.

"I have met amazing people from all over," she said. "They start out as clients and most of them end up as friends, which is the most rewarding part of it. I like meeting new people and seeing people's interest in gardening. I like helping them get their hands dirty to learn about the garden."

The Barn offers a variety of flowers, shrubs and perennials, and most are grown close to home.

"We grow some of the things that we sell, and a lot of it is also grown locally or regionally," said Montgomery. "Everything that we grow and sell is hearty to this zone. We don't sell stuff that doesn't thrive here - not just survive, but thrive. We don't give people something that's just going to do marginally well."

Not all of the plants that Montgomery grows are at the shop, either; many remain in the ground until they are ordered and are dug up shortly before they are installed at their new home.

In addition to plants, the store offers fresh goat cheese and farm-raised eggs from Heritage Homestead Farms, Telavera Pottery and an in-house library that is open for anyone needing information. While the services abound, Montgomery said she likes helping as much as possible.

"People just like to talk about gardening," she said. "Sometimes we just sit on the porch and have a gab session about plant material.

"I like for them to come because they get excited about gardening," she continued. "They can get their questions answered, whether they are doing a flower box or they're doing a big perennial garden or they want to do shrubs."

Montgomery also wants to offer a do-it-yourself landscaping service for people that want an excellent garden on a budget. She said that she will visit a client's residence, design a garden and provide the plants for a customer to install on their own. If customers purchase their plants through The Barn, she said that the design and consulting fees are waived and people can save a third to a half on their garden.

"You can still have the garden that you want and the look that you want with the designer's touch," she said.

During the winter months, The Barn will specialize in gift baskets so that people "can give a gift to the gardener" in their life, according to Montgomery.

The Barn is currently open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursdays through Saturdays, and by appointment on Mondays through Wednesdays, although Montgomery hopes to be open year-round in the future. To find out more, call The Barn at (336) 877-5154 or e-mail barn221@skybest.com.