Tina Castleberry, owner of The Garden Bug, empowers Detroiters one yard at a time

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2 days ago

Growing up during the 1970s on California Street in Highland Park, Tina Castleberry enjoyed outdoor activities, including riding a Big Wheel tricycle, which was later replaced by a Sweet & Sassy girls bicycle with a handlebar basket.
Basketball and making mud pies after a significant rainfall also were parts of Castleberry's outdoor adventures.
A self-described tomboy as a kid, most of Castleberry's fun took place alongside her two brothers and other boys on her block.
However, there was one outdoor activity where Castleberry welcomed the presence of a special woman, and this occurred regularly when she tended to her family's garden under the direction of her late mother, Henrietta Thomas.
'Gardening gave me a connection with my mother,' the now-56-year-old Castleberry explained, while describing some of the fundamental skills she learned from her mom like the best ways to weed, water and harvest a garden, which ultimately led to mouth-watering meals for her family. 'My mother had three kids to support and not a lot of money, so she did things out of necessity. Most of the food we grew went straight from the garden to the skillet and my mother was a phenomenal cook. She could cook anything from African food, to Chinese, to soul food. That was during a time when families didn't just jump up and go to Farmer Jack or Kroger. About 70% of our food was grown at home and we ate well.'
And it is Castleberry's enduring connection to her mother, along with a concern for the overall wellness of Detroiters, that inspires Castleberry today as the owner of The Garden Bug, a seasonal garden center that sells a large selection of flowers and flower pots, potting and garden soil, soil mulch and compost, vegetable seeds, plants, garden accessories, hanging baskets, lawn decor and more at two Detroit locations that are open seven days a week from May through July 4, and during October and December through Christmas Eve. The Garden Bug also is open on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday in November.
'People don't always value everything we do in Detroit, but we love our yards and our gardens, and growing food just as much as anyone,' said Castleberry, who opened her first location at 18901 Grand River in the Grandmont Rosedale neighborhood 12 years ago. 'My passion is helping people get to the next level and helping people to be successful, and that happens each time I help someone create their own beautiful yard. I've had customers say that they feel like they have stepped into a beautiful oasis, but then they take what they purchase back to their homes and neighborhoods and create their own magic in those spaces.'
One of the primary ways that Castleberry helps customers create 'magic' relates to growing food. In this instance, the magic has nothing to do with sleight-of-hand tricks, but instead focuses on old school, in-person communication where Castleberry and her dedicated team members like Dee Hudson and Kim Halley share information that has been passed down for decades, including lessons Castleberry learned from her mother who came to Detroit at the age of 16 from Mobile, Alabama.
'It's a good feeling to know that you can help feed people,' Castleberry, who opened her second location at 4225 W. Davison four years ago, explained. 'For $20, you can grow vegetables to feed two people for six months — we're talking about vegetables like squash, cucumbers and collard greens. But people can tailor their gardens to their own tastes and it doesn't matter how much space you have. You can pop vegetables into a flower bed or a container. We can show people how to do those things and it's an empowering experience.'
A 1992 graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy, where Castleberry earned a degree in marketing and public relations, she has used her power of persuasion to garner financial support and other forms of business assistance from sources like Detroit Means Business, TechTown, Motor City Match and Huntington Bank during her entrepreneurial journey. It's a journey that has seen Castleberry transform two locations requiring substantial repairs and renovations into vibrant spaces that address community needs. Nonetheless, at her core, Castleberry says she is still the same person who used to look forward to waking up early on summer mornings as a youngster to assist an elderly neighbor in Highland Park who needed help maintaining her garden.
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'I just want to be known as the girl next door — I'm no different from anyone else. I just own something now,' stated Castleberry, the loving mother of two supportive adult children — Maya and Marcellus — who stepped away from a career in marketing to care for her son born with special needs for 18 years prior to launching her business. 'When I opened our Grand River location, I said to myself: 'This is my mom's vision.' The tenacity, sticking with it, believing failure is not an option — that comes from my mom. And I have to say that this entire experience has made me one grateful, humble and shy individual.'
One person who is glad that Castleberry did not let her shyness get in the way of sharing with the community is Earlene Hall, who has lived in the Grandmont neighborhood for 36 years.
'The Garden Bug on Grand River is a focal point and a vital hub for the community,' Hall, a past president of the Grandmont Community Association, said during the afternoon of May 28. 'I like to say that it's a place for people that don't want to meet the standard, but instead want to set the standard with their yards. You can even come there with a picture of your yard and tell them what you're trying to do, and someone with The Garden Bug will talk to you and give advice on how to create your vision.
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'But more than that, The Garden Bug represents the values that we share in our community. And those values are community pride, neighborhood beautification and education, because there is quite a bit of education that takes place within that space. All of those values are exemplified at The Garden Bug and you can tell from the yards in our neighborhood, which keep getting better and better as our neighborhood transitions, that we are fortunate to have The Garden Bug in our community."
What: The Garden Bug, a seasonal garden center that sells a large selection of flowers and flower pots, potting and garden soil, soil mulch and compost, vegetable seeds, plants, hanging baskets, lawn decor and more at two Detroit locations that are open seven days a week from May through July 4 and during October and December through Christmas Eve. The Garden Bug also is open on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday in November. In October, The Garden Bug sells only pumpkins, straw, mums and corn stock. During December, The Garden Bug only sells fresh-cut wreaths, holiday porch pots and garland.
Owner: Tina Castleberry
Locations: 18901 Grand River, Detroit, 48223, and 4225 W. Davison, Detroit, 48238. Hours of operation at both locations are 9:15 a.m.-7 p.m. (Monday through Saturday) and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sundays and during Black Friday and Small Business Saturday in November.
Learn more: Please visit https://thegardenbugdet.com/
Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and a lifelong lover of Detroit culture in its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the city's neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at [e-mail] or follow him on Twitter @STalleyfreep. Read more of Scott's stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/. Please help us grow great community-focused journalism by becoming a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tina Castleberry, owner of The Garden Bug, empowers Detroiters