I dislike most kinds of shopping, but there are two kinds of “brick and mortar” merchants that I will happily visit: book stores and garden centers. Why? Because they offer unique experiences that I find irresistible. In my part of the world, at least four independent garden centers have closed over the last five years, … Read more
Last weekend, I found the gardenalia store of my dreams in a Pennsylvania town. Like many wondrous finds, it happened by accident. Like many wondrous finds in the northeastern United States, it happened because I couldn’t find a parking place. As I walked the half mile from the parking lot to my destination—a quaint village … Read more
Back before the dawn of time and the omnipresence of e-Bay, you used to be able to find dusty little antique shops on side streets in towns and cities all over the country. Those shops were generally filled with equal measures of junk and treasure, though sometimes it seemed that little if any merchandise changed … Read more
