Regional roundup, Oct. 12, 2009

Indiana
Altum’s Garden and Landscape in Zionsville, Ind., will be selling the land it currently occupies and building a new store nearby, according to a report on TimesSentinel.com. “We were not planning to sell, that was not our intention,” store owner Dana Altum said. “We were approached, and it became a great opportunity for us. It’s a win-win situation.” The move will take place after next summer.

Maryland
A former employee at Homestead Gardens is on trial, accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the garden center over several years in a scheme involving gift cards, The Baltimore Sun reported. Homestead Gardens in Davidsonville, Md., is one of the nation’s largest independent garden centers.

Massachusetts
Russell’s Garden Center in Wayland will host a special owl program titled “Who’s Watching You?” Owls of the World” on Oct. 18, WickedLocal reported. Naturalist Marcia Wilson will be speaking and showing several owls.

Oregon
After 60 years, Kasch's garden centers and nurseries are officially out of business, kgw.com reported. The business’ last location in West Linn, Ore., closed its doors earlier this month. "When things were slow and (we were) out of money, I thought that I'd just start closing stores and sell some of that expensive property and instead the market fell apart on me," said George Rogers, son of Ann Kasch who started the garden centers in 1949.

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