Owner of Gardener’s Supply in Hadley files for bankruptcy

STAFF FILE PHOTO STAFF FILE PHOTO
Published: 06-27-2025 4:08 PM |
HADLEY — The Gardener’s Supply store along Route 9, originally called Hadley Garden Supply, will continue to operate for the foreseeable future, despite the Burlington, Vermont-based company filing for bankruptcy last week.
The nursing manager at the garden supply and plant nursery on Russell Street confirmed that the store will operate as usual during the bankruptcy court proceedings and possible sale of Gardener’s Supply to Gardens Alive Inc., a direct-to-consumer gardening supply company based in Indiana, for $9 million.
The employee-owned Gardener’s Supply Company, which operates online and in stores across Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware last Friday. All of its locations will continue to operate while the company restructures.
Gardener’s Supply Company will “engage in a sale process (of the company and its assets), whether in or outside of chapter 11,” according to court filings.
Gardener’s Supply purchased the Hadley Garden Center in 2019 from Tom and Janine Giles, who owned the gardening store and plant nursery for 31 years. The Giles bought the business in 1988, around 25 years after it opened.
When selling their beloved storefront, the Giles wanted the next owner to uphold the same commitments to customers and sustainability values as they had. Gardener’s, which was founded in 1983 and has received a slew of awards, fit that bill.
According to court documents, Gardener’s has 126 full-time and 291 part-time employees. The company filed to continue paying the wages and benefits of these employees throughout the bankruptcy process.
According to the bankruptcy filing, Gardener’s Supply estimates its trade debts to 30 companies is between $1 and $10 million. The creditors include shipping companies, online advertisers and nurseries — with the largest three being UPS at about $913,000 in trade debt, Google at $632,000, and Prides Corner Farms at $375,000.
Article continues after...
Yesterday's Most Read Articles






Gardener’s saw record sales during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic, which drove up the stock value of the company. With this increase, the stock payouts of a number of retirees with “significant tenure” strained the company’s assets, according to court documents.
This strain, later compounded by a return to pre-pandemic sales numbers, pushed Gardener’s to restructure. But even with this restructuring, the company was not able to recover.
“Despite cost-cutting measures, the challenges posed by increased competition, rising shipping expenses, tariffs, and escalating marketing costs have proven insurmountable,” the company wrote in an emailed statement.
The best option for the company, it decided with its partners, was to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy and make “a planned move to facilitate a transaction with a potential buyer,” the company wrote.
In the meantime, business will continue as usual for Gardener’s Supply Company both online and at physical stores. “Our dedication to meeting our customers’ needs remains at the heart of everything we do,” the company’s statement said.
Gazette reporter Emilee Klein contributed to this report.