Willow Ridge Garden Center named Business of the Month

The Oak Ridger
·3 min read
The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce recently presented Willow Ridge Garden Center with its Small Business of the Month designation for February. Pictured are Christine Michaels, Greg Steele, Kelley O’Dell, Scott Russell, Chris Johnson, April Fugate, Lora Barker, Florenda Howard and Norm Nelson.
The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce recently presented Willow Ridge Garden Center with its Small Business of the Month designation for February. Pictured are Christine Michaels, Greg Steele, Kelley O’Dell, Scott Russell, Chris Johnson, April Fugate, Lora Barker, Florenda Howard and Norm Nelson.

Willow Ridge Garden Center, located at 97 Oak Ridge Turnpike, was the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Month for February 2022. The award is sponsored by Enrichment Federal Credit Union.

When the weather is bleak, wet, dreary and cold, it may not seem like the time to visit Willow Ridge Garden Center. But, according to garden center retail manager Greg Steele — or “Greg the Friendly Garden Guy” to followers of the Willow Ridge Facebook page — it’s always planting season.

“We are here year round and you can plant year round. There is not a time when you can not plant, so you can always get your hands dirty — it’s good for you!”

Willow Ridge has been a staple in the Oak Ridge community for more than 41 years. An employee-owned business, it started out as a landscaping service, according to a Chamber news release. That part of the business remains a staple of their offerings.

“We’re two divisions. We do hardscaping such as pavers, retaining walls, patios, outdoor living areas. We do water features. We specialize in ponds, waterfalls, bubbling rocks, bubbling features you see at our entry way — we do all that installation and everything as well as doing the plantings and trees and shrubs and all that good stuff. So, we are a complete design and install landscape company, as well as a garden center where you can come and do it yourself.”

In addition to providing professional landscaping installation, Willow Ridge also offers free landscape design service for people who are interested in doing the work themselves. Customers submit photos and measurements along with details about how much sun a particular area receives, and the designers develop a plan that will take the guess work out of it, according to a release.

Looking for the perfect house plant to brighten up the inside of your home? Willow Ridge has a large variety of plants and pottery to house those plants. Don’t have a green thumb? No problem — the staff can advise customers on low-maintenance varieties that are easy to keep alive. Or spend some time browsing in the gift shop to find the perfect wind chime, gift, or garden décor.

The team at Willow Ridge is proud of their contributions to the community. From donating goods and services for silent auctions to financial contributions, the business supports many area non-profits like the Oak Ridge Children’s Museum, The Free Medical Clinic, and the Hospitality Houses of Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge. They also provide décor for special events hosted by some of those organizations.

A visit to Willow Ridge will get your creative juices flowing. You will likely find yourself inspired to follow Greg’s advice — get your hands dirty.

To nominate a business like Willow Ridge Garden Center for the award, visit Small Business of the Month under the Members tab on the Chamber’s website: www.oakridgechamber.org. Businesses with 50 or fewer employees, are current members of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce in good standing and show active involvement in the community and/or the Chamber are eligible for the award.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Willow Ridge Garden Center named February Business of the Month