HOLLY POND — Good Hope will soon be welcoming a new business to the city, and it’s one that many local residents may already know.

During Monday’s meeting of the Good Hope City Council, Mayor Jerry Bartlett announced that Gibbs Garden Center will be moving into the city.

The garden center, which also has a location in Cullman, will be moving from its Holly Pond location to a 38-acre plot of land located on County Road 616 next to I-65, Bartlett said.

The nursery’s new home is the old McElroy property that was once a pumpkin patch, he said.  

Bartlett said the city has been working with Gibbs Garden Center owner Dusty Gibbs since December, and they are happy to finally announce the moving of his business into Good Hope. 

“We are just thrilled because we think that he’s going to bring a lot of retail tax dollars into the city of Good Hope,” he said. “We’re just so proud to have him coming.”

Gibbs said he grew up in Holly Pond and has enjoyed the 14 years that Gibbs Garden Center has been in the town, but the last few years have shown that the business needs more room to grow. 

“We’re just looking to expand, that’s the whole reason behind it,” he said. “Holly Pond’s been really good to us.” 

The move from the five-acre property on U.S. 278 in Holly Pond to the 38 acres in Good Hope will allow for the garden center to grow and become more streamlined, while also providing a convenient location next to the interstate, Gibbs said. 

“We’re extremely excited about it,” he said.

If the weather allows it, development of the land will continue during the spring and the construction of greenhouses should begin in June, and mums will be planted there in the summer to be ready for the fall, Gibbs said. 

The goal is to make the move to the Good Hope location in August in time for the fall planting season around the first of September, he said. 

Having more space could allow Gibbs to expand into more areas — like providing more house plants — but the move will mainly allow the garden center to become more state-of-the-art.

Improved facilities will allow for more automation, which means the move will likely see the garden center’s production double from what it is now and could result in lower prices on some of the bulk items that are offered, Gibbs said. 

“We’re going to stick to what we’re doing, we’re just going to do more of it,” he said. “The way we’re set up is very labor intensive, and that’s what we’re hoping to eliminate down there.”

There are some good garden centers around the state, but there aren’t many that will have the size and facilities that Gibbs Garden Center is planning for Good Hope, Gibbs said. 

“Our intentions are to build a destination garden center for the state of Alabama,” he said. 

Gibbs said the move to Good Hope should open up the garden center to more customers, but he and the garden center’s employees have gotten to know many people in the Holly Pond area who have come by every year, and he hopes they will make the drive to Good Hope to continue that relationship.

“I care about the people out here,” he said. “I think that we’re going to make it worth the trip.”