By Brenna R. Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

BURLINGTON - A well-known nursery will close its gates Saturday after more than 20 years of selling plants to Boone County gardeners.

At Landscape Supply, everything's for sale: wheelbarrows, Bobcats, file cabinets, a truck, "everything, the refrigerator, the coffee pot," said owner Rick Frederick. The thousands of plants in the 13-acre nursery are 50 percent off.

Whatever doesn't sell by 4 p.m. Saturday will be auctioned off May 14 at 9 a.m.

Frederick, 55, decided to sell the nursery when development along Burlington Pike caused the value of his land to skyrocket and his profits dwindled because of several cold, wet springs, increasing competition, and rising labor and fuel costs.

He hasn't made a profit for the last three years, Frederick said.

"We've always carried some of the hard-to-find things you can't find at a Home Depot or a smaller garden store," said Missy Collins, the store's general manager who has worked there for 16 years.

Because the nursery hasn't advertised the closing, many customers are surprised.

"When we explain to them that I want to finally close it down and retire and go have some fun," Frederick said, "they understand."

Regulars wanted to know whether he will still answer their gardening questions. His response, by e-mail - maybe.

When the last tree is dug from the nursery, Frederick said he plans to "catch my breath." He plans to play golf and maybe get a job as a plant salesman at a nursery.

"It would be a lot less demanding," he said. "Now I feel responsible for everybody who works for me, and I feel responsible to customers and to vendors."

The land is listed for about $3.8 million for 11 acres. His ex-wife owns 2 additional acres.

"People who are shopping for land are real secretive," he said. "There are people sniffing."

Land in the area is going for at least $300,000 an acre. The Burlington Fire Department is selling a 1-acre lot for $350,000.

E-mail bkelly@enquirer.com