On January 2, 1992 I opened Redenta’s Garden in Arlington. I envisioned a small shop carrying a wide selection of hard-to-find plants, lots and lots of herbs and great old garden roses. By the end of the first year we stocked only organic fertilizers and remedies. This made sense to me having been an avid follower of Organic Gardening magazine and Mother Earth News in the 70‘s. A warm, friendly, knowledgeable staff was a must. I had learned the hard way that gardening was not easy here in north Texas, so it was important to me that each and every customer have a successful gardening experience. So many of our customers that first year are still with us – they have indeed had success.

Most of my early personal gardening was vegetables. In 1992 there was very little interest in something I loved. Twenty years later it has become the most popular part of gardening – I am thrilled. Being organic then was unusual – now it is mainstream. Drought-tolerant, native plants were ignored – now they are a necessity and gardeners now realize how beautiful they can be. What do you suppose the gardening trend will be in another twenty years?

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