By Gina Lanaux

I think we all know what it feels like to be stressed out from your big important job, and one day yell out, “I just want to work in a plant shop!” Ashleigh McKenzie was just like Samantha Stevens in Bewitched when she wiggled her nose and nodded her head and ”Poof,” she now works in a plant shop!  

It wasn't quite that easy, but Ashleigh is a go-getter, and The Plant Shoppe in Fairhope is the business that put her in her new place at just the right time. Ashleigh came to Fairhope from Mobile in 1995, when she was in the 10th grade. Her father, Dennis Ledbetter, was a developer and moved the family to a beautiful old bay house on Pier Avenue and subsequently developed the property into Moss Oak Court. 

Ashleigh was very close to her dad, and she spent lots of quality outside time with him. He was known for Mobile residential developments with beautifully landscaped entrances that he designed and maintained. When he passed away a few years ago, Ashleigh saw a building for sale on the corner of Section and Morphy in Fairhope, and she and her husband, Bricken, bought it. 

She knew that she wanted to make that corner something beautiful, all the while thinking about her father and his love of nature. “When I walked into the building, there was a heart-shaped leaf on the floor, and it felt like a sign.” The space was also across from Fairhope United Methodist Church’s columbarium which is her father’s final resting place. “I just knew we were doing the right thing in purchasing the property, but was uncertain of what the space would become.”

After years of working in IT, spending most of her time behind a computer screen, and traveling nationwide, a change was on the horizon. She initially had planned to lease the space to another garden center in the area, but plans changed for the better because she now works with a top-tier team of plant specialists who are customer service oriented. 

“I wanted to work with my hands, and my friends at Leaf N Petal, a plant shop in Birmingham, and others encouraged me and told me I should and could open a shop, myself.” The Plant Shoppe is open seasonally, in Fall and Spring. I think she deserves a beautification award for creating a colorful corner in downtown Fairhope. 

Ashleigh is highly motivated to travel to farms, research, source, and sell plants that grow well in our zone. She requires her team to go to 'Southern Living Camp' and become certified in the ‘proven winners’ inventory of landscape plants. She proudly says that her shop is a Certified Elite Garden Center, the only one in the area. In January, while the shop is closed for the winter, the team attends markets, growers, and trade shows, learning all they can about their niche.

Going back to her roots, (no pun intended), Ashleigh has a degree in interior design with a concentration in construction management from the University of Alabama and began her career with TAG architectural firm in Mobile. She was a lobbyist for the American Society of Interior Designers, helping to pass a law that requires a certification for interior designers. Her design expertise is evident at the Plant Shoppe. 

Besides a plethora of landscape plants, pots, potting soil, mulch, and fertilizer, the inside shop has lovely gifts and decor for indoor and outdoor living spaces. They are the first in the US to sell BERG, large living plant containers from Denmark. “We can sell these at close to wholesale prices since they come directly to us from Denmark. I want to be a resource for the landscape community.” Outdoor furniture for porches and patios, pillows, and throws are some of the other items available.

The Plant Shoppe will open for the Spring Season on March 1st, and new merchandise will include gardening apparel and hand-embroidered lingerie and pajamas. They will also feature Faux florals from the UK, along with many other attractive botanicals. My favorite spot in the shop is the Fresh Flower Bar, where customers can purchase stems of roses, tulips, Queens Annes’s lace, greenery, and more to take home for arrangements.  

Always improving the shopping experience, they will offer online buying and payment options on the website. She encourages customers to use the drive-through pick-up if they have trouble parking or need extra assistance loading their plants. The website is easy to navigate; let's not forget that technology is her thing, too!

Visit the Plant Shoppe at 140 South Section Street in Fairhope. It's a cute little shop on a cute little corner, and that corner has gone green! (and all the plant colors of the rainbow). It is a great addition to our “cute little town.” I’m sure her father is proud!