WORTHINGTON, Minn. - Located along the eastern basin of Lake Ocheda, the New Beginnings Garden Center is popping with color. Bright pink, magenta, red, white and purple blooms are mixed in with the lush green colors of foliage in and around the new greenhouse and garden center.
Business owners Paul and Leanne Langseth opened New Beginnings in early May at 35509 280th St., Worthington. On Saturday, they will host a grand opening from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., offering visitors free hot dogs, chips, fruit, coffee and pop, along with 10 percent off their pottery and perennial purchases. There will also be a drawing for a gift certificate.
Construction of the garden center began in November 2014, with Leanne and Paul, along with friends and family doing a lot of the work alongside contractors to get the site on the Langseth farm ready for business.
As for the name of their business, Leanne said, “This was a new beginning for me, a new beginning for Paul, and (the words) just kept coming back into my head.”
A native of Reading and graduate of Worthington High School, Leanne moved back to the area in June 2014 after a more than 40-year absence. She had been living in Shakopee, where she did gardening for clients on a part-time basis while working as a full-time legal secretary and maintaining another part-time job as a sales associate for Pier 1 Imports.
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“I just decided to put all of those experiences into something I was passionate about - plants and gift items,” Leanne said.
She and Paul were married three and a half years ago, and Leanne made the decision to sell her Shakopee home and invest in the new business.
“Paul still operates his tree business (Prairie Land Trees), so people coming out here will be exposed to his tree nursery,” Leanne said.
Inside the garden center, customers will find perennials, annuals, bushes, garden pottery and a large selection of bird houses and feeders, as well as organic bird seed, available in bags or bulk.
Leanne is working with several local vendors to supply items for the garden center. A trio of men from Sibley, Iowa, make cedar trellises, lawn furniture, planters, wren houses and cribbage boards, which are just some of the items offered for sale. She also carries handmade soaps and candles made in St. Peter and northern Wisconsin, as well as handmade cards made by Paul’s sister, Kathy, who resides in Wisconsin. Handmade loon planter boxes are also offered for sale and were crafted by Leanne’s cousin, Dar, in Pipestone.
“We will also have sawmill wood planks available for sale,” Leanne said, showcasing the counter top in the garden center that is constructed from wood planks. “People can buy the planks and use them for counters, mantels or tables.”
In addition to the items available in the garden center, Leanne also creates seasonal arrangements, including wreaths, bundles and finished pots.
“We do finished planters,” she added. “If people want to have me plant their planters, I can do that with special arrangements.”
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Leanne has maintained the huge holiday greens sale she started while living in Shakopee. For two weekends in November, they will set up shop in the driveway of her one-time next-door neighbor.
“About eight years ago, Paul and I started that in Shakopee,” Leanne said. “He cuts down trees and used to burn or throw away his greenery. I started using it in my outdoor flower pots, and in time, we started selling them out of my garage for two weekends in November. That kind of spurred me on into making this dream possible, too.”
New Beginnings Garden Center is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays (except for this Saturday’s extended hours for the grand opening); and from 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. It is closed Monday and Tuesday.
