The Curious Phenomenon of the Garden Superstore
The last couple of weekends, my wife and I have gone to Merrifield Garden Center, a small local chain of nurseries/garden centers in Northern Virginia. Our closest location is in Fairfax, along U.S. 29, in an immediate area that hasn’t been too heavily developed. It looks like this from the air: That might not look too big. But the entire property is between 700,000 and 800,000 square feet, based on rough Google Maps measurements. There are roughly 450,000 square feet of sales floor. To put that in perspective, that’s about three Walmart Supercenters. This is a garden shop—hoses, soil, birdhouses, etc.—plus a nursery for trees, shrubs, and flowers, plus bulk landscaping supplies like mulch and gravel. It’s a one-stop-shop for everything gardening and landscaping. What’s interesting to me is this question, which occurs to me because I’ve been writing about retail a lot lately (like here and here). Is this a “category killer” store? Or is it something else? It is, I think, a much older format than the modern category killer store. But in some ways, it feels like a perfect execution of that idea—the combination of knowledge and product depth with economies of scale. There’s a depth of selection here you don’t get in most stores. Look at the shepherd’s hook section. Lowe’s has just two or three. There’s free bottled water, free popcorn (maybe to quiet down kids, but I’m a kid at heart), free umbrellas to borrow during rain, and plenty of associates out on the sales floor (sales grounds?). It reminds me of one of our old supermarkets in my hometown, a Grand Union, which used to have free coffee by the entrance. This is a business where every little convenience and perk hasn’t been squeezed out. There’s also something subtly but distinctly old-fashioned about it. For example, most of the cashiers are young—late high school, early college students?—while most of the sales floor employees are older—retired professors or botanists? They are talkative, friendly, and deeply knowledgeable. It feels like somehow this place has maintained an older labor arrangement, where the kids hold the jobs for seasonal cash and the adults take them to socialize or to share and monetize their knowledge. It doesn’t feel staffed by “retail workers” like Walmart or Home Depot does. Maybe simply by being a specialty store, it attracts a knowledgeable, enthusiastic segment of the labor force. I believe these garden centers are open year-round, but they probably have extra hands in the spring and summer peak gardening/landscaping seasons. I wonder if the element of seasonality somehow helps maintain this old-fashioned labor arrangement. Seasonal ice cream stands are one of the last places you see high school kids working anywhere these days, at least in my part of the country. Adding to the old-fashioned vibe is the fact that businesses like this are some of the first to sell as development encroaches. Their huge properties are developers’ dreams. In that way, they’re literally old-fashioned: businesses that exist mostly in non-urban or pre-urban landscapes. Now maybe you want to see more of it. The long, rectangular shape of the property, carved out of forest, makes it feel like an open-air store; the walls are the forest edges. It’s really one of those places that feels almost enchanted; the sense of texture, the thoughtful use of space. The color. The sheds and buildings with different departments, all a little visually different. Even a box store can achieve some of that (I wrote about it here). It’s the kind of place you can get pleasantly lost in. You can forget you’re on a little sliver of land in between highways and subdivisions and strip malls. Is there some way to keep this when land values turn selling into an offer you can’t refuse? Is there some way to elevate everyday retail with any of the design or selling principles here I think of how reliant a business like this is on money; all of the homeowners with yards to landscape and money to buy it all here rather than the big-box store. In the absence of that money, we might not get a business that also served as a sort of public amenity. We also probably wouldn’t get a nice park that did the same thing instead. It’s good that private business can sometimes be more than just business, but it shouldn’t have to be, I guess? And back to my initial question: the giant garden center is probably not related to category-killer big-box stores, but big-box retail could learn something from them. Related Reading: Have You Ever Seen a Nursery Like This? A Small Town With a Big Department Store Thank you for reading! Please consider upgrading to a paid subscription to help support this newsletter. You’ll get a weekly subscribers-only post, plus full access to the archive: over 600 posts and growing. And you’ll help ensure more material like this! You're currently a free subscriber to The Deleted Scenes. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. |
Older messages
Are Steakhouses Restaurants?
Saturday, May 27, 2023
A case of convergent culinary evolution
New and Old #111
Friday, May 26, 2023
Friday roundup and commentary
The Handy Man Can
Thursday, May 25, 2023
"Redneck repair" and "mechanical literacy"
Pick Your Fill
Wednesday, May 24, 2023
What Do You Think You're Looking At? #111
Road Diary: Driving College Park
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Observations and recollections in a deeply settled early suburb
You Might Also Like
*This* Is How To Wear Skinny Jeans Like A Fashion Girl In 2025
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
The revival is here. The Zoe Report Daily The Zoe Report 3.11.2025 This Is How To Wear Skinny Jeans Like A Fashion Girl In 2025 (Style) This Is How To Wear Skinny Jeans Like A Fashion Girl In 2025 The
The Best Thing: March 11, 2025
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
The Best Thing is our weekly discussion thread where we share the one thing that we read, listened to, watched, did, or otherwise enjoyed recent… ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
The Most Groundbreaking Beauty Products Of 2025 Are...
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Brands are prioritizing innovation more than ever. The Zoe Report Beauty The Zoe Report 3.11.2025 (Beauty) The 2025 TZR Beauty Groundbreakers Awards (Your New Holy Grail Or Two) The 2025 TZR Beauty
Change Up #Legday With One of These Squat Variations
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
View in Browser Men's Health SHOP MVP EXCLUSIVES SUBSCRIBE Change Up #Legday With One of These Squat Variations Change Up #Legday With One of These Squat Variations The lower body staple is one of
Kylie Jenner Wore The Spiciest Plunging Crop Top While Kissing Timothée Chalamet
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Plus, Amanda Seyfried opens up about her busy year, your daily horoscope, and more. Mar. 11, 2025 Bustle Daily Amanda Seyfried at the Tory Burch Fall RTW 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion
Paris Fashion Week Is Getting Interesting Again
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Today in style, self, culture, and power. The Cut March 11, 2025 PARIS FASHION WEEK Fashion Is Getting Interesting Again Designs at Paris Fashion Week once again reflect the times with new aesthetics,
Your dinner table deserves to be lazier
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
NY delis are serving 'Bird Flu Bailout' sandwiches.
Sophie Thatcher Lets In The Light
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Plus: Chet Hanks reaches new heights on Netflix's 'Running Point.' • Mar. 11, 2025 Up Next Your complete guide to industry-shaping entertainment news, exclusive interviews with A-list
Mastering Circumstance
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
“If a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them.” ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Don't Fall for This Parking Fee Scam Text 🚨
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
How I Use the 'One in, One Out' Method for My Finances. You're not facing any fines. Not displaying correctly? View this newsletter online. TODAY'S FEATURED STORY Don't Fall for the