The Garden Market wins Garden Center University scholarship

Owners Mark Hildebrandt and Rita Davis will use education to help the startup business


Garden Center magazine is pleased to award Mark Hildebrandt and Rita Davis, owners of The Garden Market in Wake Forest, N.C., a tuition scholarship to American Nursery & Landscape Association’s Garden Center University.

“We are in the process of opening a new garden center from the ground up and we feel that there are many large challenges, but I would say in addition to working within a tight budget, the large challenge is going to be mastering the purchasing of plants, flowers and inventory management as a whole,” Hildebrandt said. “Our hope is that if we can start off in the right direction that we could keep on course with many minor adjustments.”

The scholarship is valued at $2,700. Garden Center and American Nursery & Landscape Association partnered to offer one retailer the chance to join Garden Center University’s class of 2012.

The graduating class of 2012 will convene for the first time at ANLA Management Clinic, Jan. 30-31, 2010 in Louisville, Ky.