Plant Odyssey

Plant Odyssey was a plant nursery and gardening shop. It was founded by former JCCEO statistician Libby Rich and named in honor of the "odyssey" that many popular plants underwent in being transported from Europe to America.

After selling cuttings and seedlings from home in Avondale, Rich opened the first Plant Odyssey shop at 3000 Clairmont Avenue on December 3, 1975. The bare-bones business had no hot water, telephone, or cash register, and Rich hauled out a hand-painted sign every morning. With her $2,500 investment she paid $250 a month in rent and allowed herself a $75 a week salary. After a year she netted $7,000.

Rich set herself apart by sharing her knowledge of how to care for the plants she sold, including weekly appearances on the "Morning Show" on WBRC 6 with Tom York, and later with Bill Bolen. Shop manager Carole Barton taught evening classes at UAB on landscape maintenance. Having set a goal of publishing a book before she was 40, Rich self-published the Odyssey Book of Houseplants in 1989, which was picked up by Taylor Publishing of Dallas, Texas in 1990. Later she began teaching classes at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Rich also broke barriers for the hearing impaired, hiring two deaf workers in the early 1980s and teaching sign language to her other employees.

The business flourished and expanded to a new half-acre nursery at 2910–2912 6th Avenue South in March 1993. Rich designed the steep A-frame building clad with rubble fieldstone to mark the entrance, establishing a distinctive Lakeview landmark. In 2005 she opened the separate Plant Odyssey Nursery at 2900 4th Avenue South, borrowing on the assets of the shop.

In 2005 the business began to struggle in competition with national big-box stores and Rich's creditors threatened to cut her off. An urgent email sent out to regular customers paid off with an outpouring of support. Alan Barton rallied plant sellers from around the area to help staff the shop's clearance sale while loyal employees and local growers extended their own forebearance. Rich sold the nursery.

After the shop closed in the 2010s, David Carrigan purchased the 6th Avenue South building for his Brät Brot biergarten concept, later rebranded as Carrigan's Beer Garden. After that business closed, the building was significantly modified, losing its distinctive A-frame, for Frida's Garden Club restaurant.

References

• Miller, Elaine Hobson (March 19, 1982) "Deaf are discriminated against because hearing are lazy." Birmingham Post-Herald, p. A6
• Kemp, Kathy (November 1, 1989) "'Plant doctor' puts knowledge into book." Birmingham Post-Herald, p. E2
• "Spotlight shines on 'plant doctor'." (August 30, 1990) Birmingham Post-Herald, p. A6
• McCready, Neal (June 13, 1998) "Flower Power: Businesswoman cultivates hobby into successful career." Birmingham Post-Herald, p. E1
• Smith, Sandra (July 22, 1999) "Garden centers: The best plant stores in Birmingham offer personal service." Birmingham Post-Herald, p. B1
• Kizzire, Jamie (March 29, 2005) "Her Odyssey made her the boss." Birmingham Post-Herald, p. B6
• Kizzire, Jamie (June 9, 2005) "Longtime city retailer may close." Birmingham Post-Herald, p. B8
• Rich, Libby (June 22, 2005) "A Letter From Libby: Thank You For Saving My Stores." Birmingham Post-Herald, p. A3
• Goodman, Sherri C. (August 29, 2005) "Online pleas rescue small businesses." Associated Press