Island Garden Center owner Chris Burt looks over the spot where his new store will stand. Longtime horticultural purveyor Island Garden Center is moving to a new spot right next to their current location on San Marco Road. Lance Shearer/Eagle Correspondent

May 26, 2016

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Statuary features prominently in the product line. Longtime horticultural purveyor Island Garden Center is moving to a new spot right next to their current location on San Marco Road. Lance Shearer/Eagle Correspondent

A growing business - longtime horticultural purveyor Island Garden Center is moving to a new spot right next to their current location on San Marco Road. Lance Shearer/Eagle Correspondent

Longtime horticultural purveyor Island Garden Center is moving to a new spot right next to their current location on San Marco Road. Lance Shearer/Eagle Correspondent

A growing business - longtime horticultural purveyor Island Garden Center is moving to a new spot right next to their current location on San Marco Road. Lance Shearer/Eagle Correspondent

By Lance Shearer

Ironically, the rain that is so necessary for plants to grow — and will soon make it possible to cut way back on the use of your sprinkler system — is not so good when a "growing" business is trying to come out of the ground.

Island Garden Center, the Marco Island purveyor of plants that has been around so long you could call it, in horticultural terms, a perennial, is in the midst of moving. The business has leased property right next door to their longtime location on San Marco Road, and is building a 2,400 square foot structure to house their operations. But as the construction crews formed up the footers and the slab for the new building, some downpours during what is still supposed to be the dry season washed out the forms and delayed construction.

Chris Burt has owned Island Garden Center for six years, along with his stepfather, a silent partner, and believes he is the sixth owner in the center's approximately 35-year history. He took the rain in stride.

"Yeah, the weather screwed us up. We were all ready to pour, and the rain came and washed it all out." But with the open-sided metal building they are erecting, once the slab is poured, construction will move quickly, he said. The structure will have a standing seam metal roof similar to the current facility, and enclosed areas for an office, break room and restrooms.

Why go to this trouble to move 70 feet down the road? A variety of reasons, said Burt.

"This building is 35 years old, and it needs a lot of repair. The ownership of the property changed hands, and there's been a little bit of uncertainty." Besides, their lease was up. At the new location, they will also lease the property, but are looking at plans to possibly buy it in five years. The service, the full range of gardening plants and related products, and the "landscape renovations" that are their trademark will stay the same, said Burt.

That's a good thing, said Chris Curle. The former news personality and longtime Marco Island resident, along with her husband, fellow broadcaster Don Farmer, are regular customers and said they depend on the expertise of the Island Garden Center staff.

"They're very professional, helpful and friendly, and they have terrific experts to give you landscape guidance," said Curle. "They can help you freshen up your lot without getting into a whole resort level of spending. Their prices are very reasonable."

Chris Burt said his business keeps prices low, but offers a different selling proposition than the massive home improvement stores.

"I don't think we really compete with the big boxes. I guess we sell the same products, and our prices are very competitive, but what sets us apart is knowledge. Our level of expertise and knowledge far surpasses them."

Retail sale items on San Marco Road include flowers, shrubs, ground covers, mulch, landscaping stone, lawn chemicals, and a selection of decorative urns, along with garden statuary ranging from puckish gnomes to massive lions and one bare breasted maiden. "No, we haven't heard from the decency league on that yet," joked Burt.

But a lot of the work at Island Garden Center involves "house calls." For landscaping projects, the company provides everything from consultation to installation, bringing plantings in from growers and nurseries, many in the Homestead area. They have extensive experience in knowing what works in the unique environment of a tropical island.

Before purchasing Island Garden Center, Burt spent 16 years in condominium management, with the family company overseeing up to 20 of the area's best known condos, from Cape Marco to Hammock Bay. He and his wife Meredith have three children, Maddy, 14, Caelan, 10, and Aemon, 3. "This is a good place to grow plants," said Chris Burt, and a family too, apparently.

With summer still a little slower than the busy season, although it keeps getting busier every year, he said, now is a good time to get the move done.

"We'll have a grand opening this fall," he promised.