The Ground Floor: Marion landscaper adds retail to grow core business

MARION — Peter Gasper said his son was the driving force behind their new garden center.

Gasper has operated a landscaping and lawn service business since the early 1990s, most recently under the name BladeWorks. Son Jeff began working with him a few years ago after returning from Germany, where he had worked as a civilian on a military base while his wife was stationed in Iraq.

'Jeff wanted to grow the business,' Gasper said. 'It was one of those conversations we always had. He would say to me, 'Pops, it only makes sense that we go into retail.''

One reason why it made sense, Gasper explained, was that customers for whom they had done landscaping work often would contact them later wanting to buy more plants.

'We were constantly trying to set up times for customers to come look at plants,' Gasper said. 'But because we were out working on jobs all day, we'd have to do it either really early or really late in the day.'

Last year, BladeWorks got the opportunity to purchase a four-acre site on Blairs Ferry Road in Marion that had been used by an excavating company. The site included a large industrial building that the landscaping company could use for its offices, trucks and equipment.

'Jeff pointed out that it would be a great piece of property to fulfill the retail side, too,' Gasper said. 'He tugged at me.'

They obtained traffic engineering studies, which showed a large traffic count going by the location every day.

'We could have bought 50 acres outside of town for what we paid for this,' Gasper said. 'But we wanted to be in town.'

Over the winter, they hired a perennials manager and an annuals manager, both of whom are master gardeners. This spring, they moved in plants, flowers and trees.

Blooms by BladeWorks opened May 8 and employs around 18 full- and part-time employees.

The Gaspers plan to construct a greenhouse on the site by August. It will include a water-retention system to capture water from floor drains to use for trees.

Other plans include adding a retail space for pots and other hard goods by sometime next year. Gasper said he and Jeff are debating whether to convert an old horse barn on the property for that purpose or to build new.

'You have to walk before you run,' he said. 'The most important things are to get the plants and the greenhouse in place.'

The garden center's inventory includes 650 trees comprised of 59 different species, 14 species of conifers, shrubs, small perennials and annual flowers as well as vegetable plants. Most come from Iowa and Midwestern suppliers.

'We're different,' Gasper said. 'We have a lot of different things you don't find other places.'

[naviga:h3 style="padding-left: 30px;"]AT A GLANCE

Owners: Peter and Jeff Gasper

Business: Blooms by BladeWorks

Address: 1440 Blairs Ferry Rd., Marion

Telephone: (319) 329-7178

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Bloomsbybladeworks

Know a small business in operation less than a year that would make an idea 'Ground Floor' feature? Contact michaelchevy.castranova@thegazette.com