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By Donna LaPr£
Special to the Rappahannock News
The idea for Sperryville’s newest store, began with one owner browsing the Valley Trader. Ann LeKander potted spotted a 20’xl00’ greenhouse for sale, complete with all the accessories: fans, heaters, etc..
“All I’d been looking for was a little 12’x20’ greenhouse”, said Mrs. LeKander, a Master Gardener. “And look what I got, for less than I would have paid for a smaller one!”
With a greenhouse more suitable for a commercial venture than a home garden, Mrs. LeKander teamed up with friend Tom Sullivan to become partners in a garden shop .
Mr. Sullivan a native of New Hampshire, has retired from what he calls “corporate America” and sports a sore thumb rather than a green thumb: he is an accomplished carpenter and built the counter, shelves and other fittings in the store.
Mrs. LeKander moved to Rappahannock in 1996, from Warrenton and “did the usual”, she says, working at Faith Mountain, then Mountainside Market. She lives on a mountain, too, Pulliam’s Mountain, with her husband John LeKander, whom she married in 1998. The mountains seem to have followed her right to the sign above the store, “Ann’s Mountain Garden”.
Erecting the greenhouse on the LeKander’s steep site was a challenge, requiring a feat of leveling, but all went well and 20 or more neighbors and Sperryville townspeople turned out for a “greenhouse raising”, to put the plastic on. An accomplished cook as well as gardener, Mrs. LeKander cooked breakfast for everyone.
The store is part of the old hotel in Sperryville, and has housed a few different businesses in the last few years. Its current incarnation, as a garden shop, feels just right for the charming little storefront. The front door is freshly painted in dark green and pretty, flower filled boxes trim the windows. Inside, gray painted floors, pale green shelves and an arched trellis which presides over some plants give a touch of garden shed ambiance.
Shoppers will find a large number of ceramic pots, decorated with images of plants, an assortment of cards and practical items such as orchid food, seed starting mix, noodle head sprinkler attachments and biological pest and weed control products, which Mrs. LeKander favors as she leans towards organic methods.
Burn Out, for example is a nontoxic weed killer made of vinegar and lemon juice. For spot application, to avoid drift and reduce waste, an implement called WeedEezy releases products from a long, hand-held tube directly as needed. Also in the realm of the practical is a little red seat on
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