Red Barn Garden Center

Red Barn Garden Center

Written by Rachel Youens Wednesday, 07 March 2007

Gardening center roots itself in Austin history

Working at a plant nursery was something Emelie McDaniel, Red Barn company president, was supposed to try while she figured out what to do with her life. Now she has figured it out and it’s working at a plant nursery.

“You really have to love this business. It’s not big money, so you need to love helping people garden,” McDaniel said. “We’re really just glorified farmers, but this is a rewarding way to make a living.”

Red Barn was founded by Scottie Gosh in 1978. He taught McDaniel his gardening secrets, such as growing organics and xeriscaping. When he was ready to sell the business in 1993 he turned to McDaniel.

“I was sort of his right-hand-man and he gave me the opportunity to own a Red Barn by allowing me to pay over time,” McDaniel said. “I’ve taken that opportunity and given back to the local community and offered people a decent-paying, pleasant place to work.”

McDaniel’s love of plants began as a child, growing up in a small town in Mississippi. There were no plant nurseries there, so gardening was a social affair where neighbors shared plant cuttings and seeds. Today some of her family members still have ferns growing from cuttings given to them by her mother. Her favorite part of the job isn’t the plants so much as the people.

“I like that everything in this business is always changing: the season, the plant type, the care,” McDaniel said. “I also like offering a peaceful place for people whose lives are full of gadgets and fluorescent lights where they can reconnect with nature.”

The property that houses Red Barn has always been home to green businesses-although they were putting greens. Holes from the Green Acres putt-putt golf course still dot the land and lend Red Barn some of its appeal, not to mention a perpetual lawn of lush green AstroTurf.

“All the time I have people tell me how they used to golf here at Green Acres or work at Red Barn as kids,” McDaniel said. “We would hire on teens for seasonal help and now they bring their kids here to hop in the wagons and buy plants.”

The Historical Thompson Home

Originally built by William H. Thompson in the 1870s, the house that sits in the middle of Red Barn Garden Center is not only a part of the store’s charm, but a part of Northwest Austin history.

• At one point the Thompson family owned nearly 900 acres in the Jollyville area, and the house is constructed of native cedar from the surrounding land.
• Inside the house on the second floor is a door that opens into thin air. This marks where the house used to have a loft where the women would sleep while the men slept outside on the porch.
• Under the Red Barn parking lot lies the remains of the stagecoach trail, and settlers used the Thompson house as a rest stop.
• The house and the land may be haunted. McDaniel says some employees claim to smell a lady’s perfume at times, and others said they have seen ghosts moving through the trees.

Red Barn Garden Center, 12881 Pond Springs Road, 335-8093

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