The Roots of Ashcombe’s Success
Jim Damschroder, co-owner and financial manager of Ashcombe Farm & Greenhouses in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, discusses the business’s history and how it became a year-round staple in its community.
How did you get started at Ashcombe?
After I got my accounting degree from Ohio Wesleyan University, my wife and I wound up in Pennsylvania, where I got a job with a local CPA firm for six years. I then became the CFO of Analytical Laboratory Services Inc. in Middleton and was there for fourteen years. While with the CPA firm, I discovered I loved working with small businesses, learning who they are and how they operate. So when I left my CFO role, I knew I wanted to move into that sector.
That’s ultimately what drew me to Ashcombe Farm & Greenhouses, a small business that’s an anchor in the borough of Mechanicsburg with a long history of community engagement. The owners at the time really needed someone who could help guide the company fiscally, and my skill set was the perfect fit.
What do you do there?
After a decade, financial manager is still my principal role. I take ownership of the financial health of Ashcombe, including budgeting, forecasting, and cash flow along with any daily accounting duties not handled by my assistant—aka my wife, who works here full-time. In recent years, I’ve also absorbed HR responsibilities and overseeing our IT infrastructure. I stay pretty busy.
Walk us through the company’s history.
It started back in 1956 as a wholesale vegetable farm called Ashcombe Vegetable Farm, founded by Glenn and Mary Ellen Gross. Six years later, Glenn formed a corporation and renamed it Ashcombe Farm & Greenhouses to reflect their shift to growing flowers. From there, they expanded gradually by adding more land and greenhouses.
In 1989, a devastating fire wiped out most of the store, but it gave Glenn the opportunity to rebuild bigger, adding a café, bakery, gourmet food section, and gift shop. Today, we operate the same large retail space and offer an ever-changing lineup of plants and products. We also have children’s classes, educational workshops on plant care, community events, and even a repurposed mini school bus we painted green and named Fern, which we use to bring plants to retirement communities and schools.
Glenn and Mary Ellen eventually passed ownership down to three long-time employees, who have now passed ownership to me and general manager Kerri Laudig. Plant production manager Amber Bahn will be joining us very soon. She’s only been here a few years, but she’s amazing at organizing our plant production operations and has a great desire to educate customers and employees. Together, we hope to continue building upon Glenn’s legacy.
How is Ashcombe unique compared to other garden centers?
At our core, we are plant people, so we offer the staples you’d expect, like soils, pots, and herbs. But our niche is that we grow most of our annuals, vegetables, and herbs ourselves. This means we know what soil was used, how often everything was watered, and whether greenhouse-grown plants were hardened off or not (i.e., transitioned from protected indoor climates to outdoor elements). Most garden centers don’t have the space to do this.
We’ve also become a destination rather than just a place to buy plants. Between the many classes, café, and seasonally stocked gift area, we have a variety of experiences for our customers to enjoy throughout the year. Plus, visitors can bring their children or grandchildren to meet our two rabbits and four cats, do a scavenger hunt, or simply explore our retail greenhouses while the adults shop.
Growing plants takes care, patience, luck, and a bit of love, and we want our customers to be just as excited about our products as we are. That’s why we adopted a new tagline a few years ago: “We are growing to please you.” We have a loyal customer base of over 52,000, and we work hard to earn that through not just our consistent plant quality and variety but also our welcoming atmosphere and knowledgeable employees who truly want each person to succeed in growing something they love.
You called Ashcombe an anchor of the community. In what ways do you achieve this reputation?
Honestly, I can’t take credit for that—it’s been that way for a long time. People tell me how they used to come here with their grandparents and now bring their own kids. Many will even have them apply for their first jobs with us since it is such a relaxed and welcoming environment; both of my own kids actually worked in the café during high school and summers.
Beyond that, we continually support community events, like the Letterkenny Army Depot’s welcome event, which helps show what’s available to new families moving into town. We’ve done fundraising for the Girl Scouts, fire companies, school sports teams, and the public library, and some schools take field trips to our facility. You’ll see the Ashcombe name sprinkled throughout the entire Mechanicsburg area.
Are there any difficulties that come with being a seasonally driven business that’s open year-round?
First of all, we typically are only on the positive side of the financials during April, May, and June. The rest of the year, we operate at a deficit. However, it was decided a long time ago that we wanted Ashcombe to be open all twelve months to keep our workers gainfully employed.
To help us stay on track, we have monthly targets and forecasts and hold specific events that help draw customers in. For instance, we host a romance writer book-signing event each February, a backyard barbecue with live music in June, a day in August where we have a mass release of monarch butterflies, and photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus in December. Beyond that, we offer a year-round biweekly story time for kids and a youth summer camp on Fridays in June and July.
Staffing is always the biggest challenge, though. We do a job fair in late February to fill out the plant production department, which is our team of growers, and add to the retail, register, nursery, and plant departments. The hardest part is that we need an army for April and May but then have to reduce hours during summer since most customers have their gardens in place by that point. The hiring time frame eliminates the high-school and college kids, so we often lean into retirees who are looking for a temporary part-time job at a place they know and love.
What’s next for Ashcombe?
We’re always exploring new ideas, like a mini-golf course in our courtyard to serve as a revenue generator with low labor overhead after installation. We’re also looking to upgrade our greenhouse facilities in the next few years. And we recently found out that there are ninety-eight single-family homes set to be constructed within walking distance of us. We’re in talks with the developer to create a walking path to our property so homeowners could easily come visit us and buy plants for their new yards. It’s another interesting and exciting opportunity to connect with the community.
For more info, visit ashcombe.com
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