Today we’d like to introduce you to Madeson Witkosky-Barr.
Hi Madeson, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My father, Scot Witkosky, started the foundation of our business. In 1976, Scots Landscape Nursery was created—Scot had no idea the harvest it would yield some 47 years later. But season after season, year after year, his efforts and the expertise shared by many members of the Witkosky family have proven to produce a harvest of growth, a passion for quality, and a legacy of community support.
For many years, Scots was known for providing plants, seeds, and garden supplies in the retail store, and offered landscape design, installation, and maintenance services as well.
Scot’s wife Jamie (my incredible mother), a landscape architect graduate of West Virginia University, joined the team 38 years ago, and together the two have been able to create one of the leading garden and retail centers in West Virginia, with clients and customers throughout the state of West Virginia and Ohio.
A beautiful foundation was built, but as the years passed on something had to start to define us a little more. We had to reinvent the direction of our business to set us aside from the large “big box” retailers that were moving into town. That’s when the new transformation began. Our family was inspired by European Garden Centers that had a market & café attached. We worked towards that direction of converting our retail space into a marketplace full of seasonal local fresh produce, fresh local farm eggs, fresh local honey, locally hand-crafted items, and so many more wonderful things. In this process through college, I started working part-time for the business, and that quickly went to full-time as my passion developed deeper and deeper into growing our family business into a destination for those in our community and the surrounding regions around us. Shortly after graduating Marietta College, I took a leap of faith and stayed on full-time with the family business. Through lots of hard work, long days, and the desire to want more for our community—I’ve seen a tremendous growth in our family business.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Whew, that’s definitely a loaded question! It has not always been a smooth road. We’ve had our fair share of hurdles, but who hasn’t when running/owning a Small Business? I find that every “bump” along the way only makes us stronger and wiser than before.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Our business is uniquely diverse. We sell a wide range of materials starting with our beautiful plants. We grow our own annuals, herbs, hanging baskets, succulents, and more. This is something that sets us apart from other greenhouses in the area. With growing our own plants this gives us the opportunity to give each plant the tender, love, and care they deserve. We sell additional plant products from soil, chemicals, fertilizers, pottery, and more. This gives you the experience of purchasing all your plant needs under one roof. Outside of the plant world our market showcases over 25 local businesses, from pottery to art prints to some of the best locally made shirts, candles, and list continues on and on.
Our newest addition that has helped set us apart in our ice cream shoppe! Take a step back in time when you walk through the doors of our adorable 1950’s inspired shoppe. Everything from hand-dipped ice cream to hand-crafted weekly coffee and ice cream specials and incredible homemade cookies, scones, and other various sweet treats. Whatever our talented in-house baker decides!
With the diversity of our business comes the one thing I’m most proud of—the incredible relationships with have with the local artists and small businesses that are located inside of our market. These relationships are precious and to be cherished. Together, we get to help support one another and make our dreams a reality.
What matters most to you? Why?
Community matters most to me. Without the continuous support from our community, our business would not flourish without their support.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.scotslandscape.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scotsmarketplace/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/scots.landscaping/
Image Credits
Memories by Megan Westbrook
