Salsbery Garden Center Owner Talks History, Success of McCordsville Location
Photographer: Mark Bell
The Salsbery Garden Center in McCordsville is a second generation family-owned labor of love. The well-manicured garden center is located on an acre property on Broadway Street. The property is uniquely designed to pique your senses, inspire your next DIY project or cause you to surrender to the obvious expertise of owner, Amanda Isom.
Isom spent her childhood working at the Salsbery Garden Center in Kokomo owned and operated by her parents for 43 years. The 14-acre property has a greenhouse, tree farm, perennials and annuals galore. She learned from a very young age about the process and the intricacies of the business working alongside her parents.
When she left for college she was convinced that she would never work outside again, instead pursuing a degree in design with her eyes set on an air-conditioned office with a view. She achieved those goals and yet every weekend found herself returning to Kokomo to help her parents. Eventually, she came to the conclusion that the air-conditioned view was not enough and that gardening was her passion.
As fate would have it, the current location became available and it just so happened to be a vacant garden center and it happened to be closer to her New Palestine home.
Isom opened her doors for business nearly nine years ago and she could not be happier.
“I do everything here because I only have one acre,” Isom says.
With the property being smaller, she is able to take time to create a more comprehensive approach to the store.
“The best part is that I can offer a larger variety of plants, flowers and trees because I don’t have to fill a semi-truck full like a big box store, which would likely be of one species of a plant,” she says. “I can just order from the Kokomo store which saves us time and money because we can go back and forth as needed.”
The added bonus for Isom is she knows intimately the experience, quality and love that went into creating these plants and it also means spending time with her family.
Combining her love of design and gardening along with her antique business, Isom has created a unique customer experience at the McCordsville store. She found that many of her customers were unsure what combination of plants and flowers to use so she created a visual example, combining her design training that she knows will inspire them but also help them feel better about what they buy for their home.
“Each of our designs tells a story that I hope creates an image in their minds that help them envision what story they want to tell,” she says.
Isom also provides landscape design that is especially visual. She will bring the plants she is proposing rather than a plan on paper so that you can actually see how the look will come together. She offers custom window boxes and planters and brings everything to you. It is clearly a source of great joy for Amanda and her services seem to be in strong demand..
The Salsbery Garden Center in McCordsville is just a few miles from Fortville, Greenwood, Indianapolis and Geist, becoming somewhat of a regional garden center and drawing clients from as far away as Carmel, Cicero and Indianapolis.
“The gift room is very popular because we are open year-round, which many don’t realize,” Isom says. “We do holiday flowers, Christmas planters, wreaths, sprays and have a lot of unique pieces I bring in from my antique business.”
For those thinking about fall, they have quite a reputation for the thickness and tightness of their mums because of the extra care Isom’s mother Becky spends on them.
Whether you are looking for young or mature plants, design services, schedule a design consultation for your entire landscape, custom window boxes and planters, advise or just want to see how amazing these mums can be, you should stop by Salsbery Garden Center at 6346 W. Broadway, McCordsville or call 317-335-5550. The store is open year-round Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. You can also visit them online at salsberygardencenter.com.
