It's something that happens all too often.  A family business has to close, or be sold, because the next generation of children does not want to take over. Well, that kind of situation is not taking place at Stan’s Garden Center.  You can say the love of gardening has been "planted" from father to son.

Owner Jim Skarzenski has retired effective last week and has passed the torch to his son Josh. The passing of the family business from generation to generation is an interesting story. The business was founded in 1954 by Jim's dad Stan.

"My dad was at GE full time and him and my mom started growing, actually, mums in the fields.  Field mums.  They'd dig them and sell them in the fall,” said Jim.

Stan quit GE to devote all his time to the business, then located at Salzman and Cumberland Road in Harborcreek.  Business grew from growing and selling mums to becoming a full floral shop and garden center. But, in 1981 Stan passed away.  Jim, like his dad before him, worked at GE.   With his dad's passing, Jim left GE to take over the garden center. And just like his father, he soon found out that he liked working with plants better than working at a plant.

"I wasn't really a shop worker.  It wasn't for me either.  It wasn't for him and it wasn't for me,” says Jim.

The business grew under Jim’s leadership.  It moved to its current location on Buffalo Road in 1987. Stan's added a second location on West Lake Road in 2003.  At Jim's side for almost the entire time was his son Josh.  Josh, unlike his dad and granddad, studied Landscape Design and Floraculture Production in college. He knew from a young age this is the kind of work he would love.

"I'm the Gordon Ramsey with how passionate he is with food, I feel the same way about plants. If you want to start a conversation about plants, I don't care if I'm out to dinner with family, Come on over. I talk plants 24/7 and I thoroughly enjoy it,” says Josh.

This week, Josh takes over as the main proprietor of Stan's Garden Center.  He’s the third generation of the Skarzenski family to take over the business.  But what about a fourth generation? Josh's daughter Sage is not yet two years old.  But she is already is a regular sight at the greenhouses.

"She loves being here.  She loves flowers.  She loves pushing the carts around.  So hopefully, we can instill in her what my father instilled in me,” said Josh.

Even though he is now retired, Jim says he will be around to give help and advice to his son whenever he needs it.