August 2012
Inspiration In Numbers By Brian Bauman

By aligning three pillars of the green industry — retail, landscape and design — Bauman's Farm & Garden created an inspirational retail concept with the help of two local businesses.

At Bauman’s Farm & Garden in Gervais, Ore., we have partnered with two local businesses — Red Bird Restorative Gardens and Autumn Leaf Landscaping Company — to create an inspirational retail concept that connects home gardeners to their roots and provides the ability to feast their eyes on what is possible. Our goal is all about nourishing our customers’ desires for healthy outdoor living. We agreed to call the concept “Farm at Table.”

Farm at Table kicked off at the end of April here at Bauman’s and will run through October 31, 2012.

Parts of the Partnership

As owners and managers of small businesses, it’s not unusual for us to make local business allies with others who share many of the same experiences we do.

Our relationships with each other made this project work and make sense. I went to school with Kevin Schindler of Autumn Leaf Landscaping and Annie Kirk of Red Bird Restorative Company has worked with Kevin in the past.

All of our companies are family-owned and have deep roots in our community. Together we transformed a retail space into a one-of-a-kind experience for our surrounding town. This concept not only motivates our customers, but also pulls together three pillars of the green industry — retail, landscape and design — creating an amazing outdoor space to show home gardeners the possibilities available to them through local companies.

We all kicked in start up costs — Bauman’s supplied the fountains and plants, Kevin and his landscape team installed them as well as helped build the table and arbor, and Annie came up with the overall design and implementation of this display.

In the Details

This inspirational showcase we’ve worked together on features many elements not to be missed and include :

• A birdbath repurposed into a truly spectacular succulent garden that flows over with fascination.

• An artistic and functional outdoor table that incorporates recycled materials, water, and edible gardening. All of these elements come together to create an inspirational focal point.

• A gazebo that anchors the design and provides a resting place for visitors. The columns of the gazebo are laced with edibles and succulents, putting into practice “every inch counts.”

• With plants still in pots and placed in holes in the ground, one major difference is that this display has each element individually priced so shoppers can buy pieces of the display. And as we encourage them to shop from the display, this encourages us to keep it fresh and up-to-date with new stock and new ideas. We also provide an overall price for our three local companies to create a dream outdoor room in their garden.

Annie, owner of Red Bird Restorative Gardens said, “This concept is more than bringing the farm to table, but it is actually a table planted within the farm with edibles that are fresh at your finger tips; both to enjoy and appreciate.”

Through this new endeavor, we’ve sold enough plant material, birdbaths and fountains for me and my team at Bauman’s to consider this a success from a retail perspective. For Annie and Kevin, this new display has generated new leads for them, at which they are currently bidding on.

We’re still in the process of understanding if this is mutually beneficial for all of us, but it is something I would definitely like to continue and do again next year.


By aligning three pillars of the green industry — retail, landscape and design — Bauman’s Farm & Garden created an inspirational retail concept with the help of two local businesses.



Brian Bauman

Brian Bauman is the owner and general manager of Bauman's Farm and Garden in Gervais, Ore., which started in 1896 and has grown into a multifaceted operation that includes a nursery, bakery, produce and gourmet food market. You can reach him at [email protected].