BROADVIEW FLORIST CELEBRATING 50 YEARS

Spring is here! You know it is, because the calendar tells us so. It doesn’t matter that recently you’ve been scraping ice off your windshield, or that the heat is still on in the house. Spring is in the air—the grass is getting greener. The bright yellow blanket of daffodils winding down the driveway, the vivid bed of purple crocuses, and the blooming forsythia tells us it is here.

In anticipation of the start of the outdoor gardening season—late April and early May, gardeners all around Fort Wayne are looking to add a touch of color to their gardens. “The greenhouses are like ant hills, very busy,” said Sandy Hackbarth of Broadview Florist and Greenhouse. “But don’t plant anything yet,” warns Doug, her husband. “The soil temperature has to be a lot warmer for anything to grow. It is not until around Mother’s Day that your plants will survive outside.”

Spring is also the busiest time for Doug and Sandy Hackbarth, owners of Broadview. And especially this year, they will be celebrating their 50th year as a family owned, south side business.

Broadview Florist has served Waynedale and the Fort Wayne area since 1919. The business started out as a farm that raised cows, pigs and chickens as well as many types of vegetables that were delivered and sold in the downtown markets on Barr Street in Fort Wayne. The originators were Carl Schweppe, President and his friend, Fred Meyer, Secretary and Treasurer. Later Broadview branched out as the largest premier producer of cut-flowers. In 1950 Hoadly Dominy took over.

The Hackbarth family purchased Broadview Florist in 1957, only the third owners. In the 60s and 70s, with the invention and distribution of plastics, Broadview became a large grower of potted plants allowing the general public the opportunity to buy and easily carry their plants home.

Today, this 50-year-old family owned and operated shop has successfully bloomed into a floral icon in the Fort Wayne area. “Our greenhouse people are springing to life starting hundreds of thousands of plants. ” We love to grow,” said Doug. They are preparing for the onslaught of outdoor gardeners to be picking through annuals, perennials, hanging baskets, roses, and vegetables soon. In fact, Doug and Sandy started planting their acre of greenhouses March 1st.

“We are not a seasonal greenhouse, we are open all year round,” emphasizes Sandy. “Our floral artists are polite and very talented. They can provide an array of arrangements for birthdays, weddings, funerals, anniversaries, whatever the occasion.”

Doug has been married to Sandy for 34 years. Their daughter, Heather and son, Travis and mother-in-law, Lois, also work hard to grow nearly 100,000 gardening type plants each year. Robert Hackbarth, Sr., Doug’s retired father, lives in Phoenix, Arizona, but still makes the flight into Fort Wayne at least three times during the year to work.

Spring has arrived and if you feel your green thumb beginning to throb take a ride over to Broadview Florist and Greenhouses. 88 years later, the store remains at the same location, 5409 Winchester Road.