Yarrow Acres, Franklin, TN

Nestled in the quaint surroundings of historic Main Street in downtown Franklin, TN, Yarrow Acres is the area’s first “Gardener’s Gift Store” that offers customers everything for “in and out” of their gardens. Blending the cross-section between indoors and outdoors, the garden boutique features a wide range of goodies that appeal to gardeners of all ages, including chic tools, homewares, decor, quirky gifts, apparel, candles, personal care items, jams and salsas, houseplants and more. Every item in the store is personally hand-selected and tested by Sheri Gramer, Founder and Proprietor of the garden boutique. Every spring, she fills her store with fresh herbs – both unusual varieties and staples – from all around the country, which has been a passion for Gramer since she grew plants and herbs on her farm in Grass Lake, MI. After relocating to Tennessee’s Williamson County in the early 90s, Gramer decided to apply her knowledge of cultivation toward a retail business. Now, more than two decades later, Yarrow Acres is the “go-to” destination for anything unique and out-of-the-ordinary. Its flair for the eclectic has helped the store land feature after feature in the pages of Southern Living magazine several times. See for yourself why customers rave about Yarrow Acres, calling it a “must-see” stop when visiting Franklin. While exploring the home and garden boutique, you’ll discover surprises around every corner, which explains why shoppers find it impossible to leave empty-handed. Seasonal trends are always on display to keep customers in tune with the latest and greatest in the world of gardening and home decorating. The retailer’s variety of make-and-take workshops, such as kokedama and air plant terrariums, spread the love of gardening to fans of all generations and skill sets. After uncovering all the secrets of success at Yarrow Acres, be sure to take a walk down Franklin’s historic Main Street to take in all the award-winning vintage shops, brick-and-mortar gift stores, fashion-forward boutiques, art galleries and restored homes that reside in this vibrant, antique district.
www.facebook.com/YarrowAcres
 

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Optimara/Holtkamp Greenhouses, Inc., Nashville, TN
Founded in 1904 in the lower Rhein Valley of Germany, Optimara/Holtkamp Greenhouses, Inc., is now the largest grower of African Violets in the world. Offering the widest selection of full-blooming varieties, Optimara continues to advance the horticulture industry with new plant assortments and innovative growing techniques, which have been constantly refined with decades of research and development. The introduction of Optimara Violets in 1977 represented a crowning achievement not only for Holtkamp Greenhouses, but for the African Violet industry as a whole. These violets were noted for their quality of large, colorful blooms, signifying the many decades of growing research and trials from Holtkamp Greenhouses. Be sure to walk through each of Optimara’s large-scale commercial production greenhouses, which are full of interesting, eye-catching varieties that will surely impress your customers. If you find your store’s next best-seller, Optimara’s diverse collection of plants can be shipped to independent garden center retailers nationwide using FedEx. Since they’re best-known for their African Violets, the commercial grower has two to three growing areas dedicated solely to producing and finishing their violet varieties – you won’t want to miss a tour through these must-see production houses. Ask about some of the most popular plant care products from Optimara, which are their many innovative self-watering devices that will help your customers reap the greatest success with their plants. Each of these use capillary action to draw out the right amount of water into the soil, greatly reducing the chances of underwatering or overwatering. The Optimara Watermaid stores water in a saucer and draws it into the soil via capillary matting. The Optimara WaterShip container for 2-inch miniatures doubles as a self-watering and spill-proof container. The Qwick wick-watering pot cover extends time between waterings by 4 weeks or more in retail plants.
www.optimara.com 

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Bates Nursery & Garden Center, Nashville, TN
Bates Nursery & Garden Center distinguishes itself with three elements: information, selection and helpfulness. The minds behind the independent garden center pride themselves on carrying the most extensive selection of plant material available anywhere. Bates Nursery stocks everything from groundcovers to large specimen container trees, and the retailer offers the widest variety of seasonal color annuals and year-round perennial plants. In addition to the more than 3,000 products registered in the store’s inventory system, Bates Nursery can place special orders and have done so for many residential customers and contractors. The extensive inventory of plants and products is searchable on the store’s state-of-the-art website, which features photos, descriptions and prices of most items. Borne out of frustration with the poor-quality soils widely available in the marketplace, the EarthMix Garden Products line was developed and produced by Bates Nursery over a 20-year period. The EarthMix Garden Products line is wholly organic, sustainably produced, professional-quality soils and amendments that have been developed, processed and bagged right on-site at Bates Nursery. As longtime growers, Bates Nursery felt they could do a much better job at producing soils that are microbially active and naturally prolific – without the use of chemicals. Rounding out Bates Nursery’s brand is the store’s crew of friendly, helpful and knowledgeable associates, who are incredibly willing to share their experiences and information with the store’s “guests,” the store’s reference to customers. 
www.batesnursery.com 

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Hewitt Garden and Design Center, Franklin, TN
The family-owned and -operated Hewitt Garden and Design Center offers a wide range of services, such as consultations, installations and full-scale landscaping projects. The gamut of available plant material includes tiny succulents and hard-to-find houseplants then runs the full scope up to massive full-grown trees. The retail garden center’s gift shop features unique pottery, unusual gifts and home decor. 
www.hewittgc.com 

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Long Hollow Gardens & Vineyards, Gallatin, TN
Experience more than just a garden center at Long Hollow Gardens & Vineyards and find the highest quality plants, trees, annual flowers, interior foliage, soils and mulches, organic solutions, and decor and accessories for customers’ homes. Ask how this retail garden center expanded to include an event venue on-site for special occasions and a vineyard that produces Southern varietals that continue to surge in popularity. During spring and fall, the retailer brings out food trucks to serve their guests while they shop.
www.longhollowgardens.com 

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Johnny Cash Museum, Nashville, TN
Uncover the enigma behind “The Man in Black” with a visit to The Johnny Cash Museum, which is one of only six destinations in Nashville to earn the coveted AAA Gem rating. Dedicated to one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, the museum boasts the world’s largest collection of Johnny Cash artifacts, films, handwritten notes and letters penned by the man himself, more than 25 costumes, as well as other personal memorabilia. Colorful, illuminated exhibits highlight different periods in the musician’s career, including his time spent serving in the Air Force, his marriage to fellow country-music star June Carter and his famous prison concert tour. Since this museum is officially licensed by the Cash family, you’ll have access to personal mementos that are not available anywhere else, including a section of stone wall that was removed from Johnny and June’s lake house in Hendersonville, TN. After soaking up all the history about Cash, enjoy a coffee, salad, sandwich or pastry from the on-site cafe. 
www.johnnycashmuseum.com

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American Pickers Star Mike Wolfe's Store in Marathon Village, Nashville, TN
Pick through a range of quirky decor, furniture and folk art, and discover vintage gems that you can repurpose in your next merchandise displays at Antique Archaeology, a store owned by the star of History Channel’s American Pickers Mike Wolfe. Take back eclectic design inspiration and tips on how to repurpose historic structures from the 100-plus-year-old red brick warehouse buildings that make up Marathon Village. Originally opened to manufacture cars for Marathon Motor Works, the village is now home to a fun, funky community of local businesses, dubbed “Nashville’s Creative Neighborhood.” Showcasing an aesthetic with vintage-industrial vibes, Marathon Village houses more than 45 tenants, ranging from distilleries, home decor and apparel boutiques, entertainment venues, gourmet candy companies, restaurants, art galleries, tattoo parlors and antique dealers. Sample some of Tennessee’s finest whiskeys and bourbons at Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery. Take back memorable display ideas and new home decor vendors from The Faded Farmhouse.
www.marathonvillage.net 

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