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PrintSummer Blooms at Tatham’s
Family owned and operated for more than 30 years, Tatham’s garden center in Reedsville is growing a lot more than ideas.
It doesn’t matter whether you’ve got a green thumb, visiting Tatham’s landscaping, nursery, and garden center in Reedsville is a scintillating sensory experience for everyone. The early 20th-century main house makes a statement all its own, but then visitors’ senses are stimulated by splashes of color and aromatic bursts. Apple, pear, plum, peach, and nectarine trees stand at attention near the main entrance accompanied by blooming pansies, blueberry and blackberry bushes, and ornamental peach plants. The one-acre plot of land tucked against a hillside is covered in tall trees that create natural shade for the numerous plants for sale. “We carry a range of plants and trees you can’t find in a lot of places, plus a lot of your traditional varieties, too,” explains Lucas Tatham, co-owner of Tatham’s. “And we make sure all of our inventory are Zone 5.”
Lucas now manages the center’s only location in Reedsville with the help of his mother, who is still a co-owner. But when his parents, Chris and Joyce, opened Tatham’s more than 30 years ago, they operated from two locations—one in Kingwood and one in Morgantown. After decades of success, Tatham’s has certainly made a name for itself. “Growing up, whenever I introduced myself as Lucas Tatham, people were always like, ‘Tatham, as in the Tathams?’” Lucas remembers.
As the business continues to thrive, Lucas envisions new directions for the garden center, including an easier and more energy efficient growing system. “When we moved to Reedsville, we stopped growing for wholesale. Now, we only grow for ourselves,” he says. Tatham’s starts growing in mid-February in the production greenhouse and puts a lot of time and energy into preparing for the busy season, which runs consistently from around Easter until Christmas. Tatham’s top-selling items are hanging baskets, which were recently upgraded from white, plastic pots to higher-grade natural baskets; tomato, pepper, and vegetable plants; and a wide variety of the more popular yellow and orange flowering plants, among many other options.
While Mother’s Day and early summer sales are a huge part of Tatham’s business, the biggest draw is the landscaping services they offer. “We can outfit an entire home, from hanging baskets to extensive landscaping. Our crew will travel within about a 75-mile radius, anywhere from Garrett County, Maryland, to Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, to Clarksburg,” Lucas explains. And while the goal is always to simplify the mode of operation, Lucas hopes to expand nursery space on the back of the property to offer an even wider variety of trees and plants, and he is “flirting” with ideas for the main house, including subletting the space for offices or establishing a guest house.
Tatham’s truly caters to everyone. The greenest of thumbs will feel giddy with anticipation as they stroll through the grounds planning their gardens and landscapes, while those clients more in love with the idea of gardening can enjoy pastries and drinks in the café, purchase botanical-themed gifts and home décor in the shop, and bask in the sights and scents of Tatham’s garden center.
Open Monday–Saturday 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
Tatham’s, LLC, Route 92 near corner of Route 7, P.O. Box 246, Reedsville, WV 26547; 304.864.4333; info@tathams.com
