Although chilly winds still howl, under the shelter of a greenhouse, the workers at Damariscotta’s Cottage Gardens, florists, are planting spring hanging baskets, the pansies have been seeded and the flower orders have started to arrive.
“We are getting ready for Mother’s Day and Memorial Day. We have to start early,” said Russell Barden, a co-owner of the shop.
Inside the store, Barden sat down in the greenhouse, surrounded by ferns and flowers and said he wanted his customers to know he was still open for business and ready for Spring.
Barden and a partner had operated an annex of the flower shop on Damariscotta’s Main Street for two years.
Despite hard work, the economy made it hard to justify keeping two locations, Barden said.
“At first, when we took over from Brambles, it was great. We had foot traffic and were able to expand into home décor. We had two golden years,” he said.
Then a year ago, the stock market took a nosedive and the store saw a drop off. “We still had a lot of interest in the store, but they were not spending money,” he said.
Despite the problems at the Main Street location, the flowers and plants still drew customers to the Church Street location where Barden and company maintain a stock of gardening essentials like houseplants, flowers for weddings, funerals and other special occasions.
While customers seem to be more choosey where they spend their money, Barden said they are still spending money on their gardens.
“We had a strong (last) summer. Our customers go to locations they trust and we try to become a destination. We feel that people want to come here,” he said.
In addition to plants and flowers, Cottage Gardens still has out door items, including outdoor decorative items like fountains, pottery and statutes.
“When we ran the ad (in The Lincoln County News) about the Main Street store closing, people said I should mention that our Church Street flower and garden store was staying open.
“So, I will say it. We are staying open,” he said.
