Kossoudji admitted he had little knowledge of gardening, but learned by trial and error.
“He learned to be a great nurseryman. He used to grow all his own plants on the six and half acres we have in green houses. He travelled all over the country and learned a lot from others,” said Steve Kossoudji, who operates the business with his wife, Lisa.
In the early years, Shirley ran the business while Pete worked the third shift at Premier Rubber Manufacturing for seven years.
By the 1970s, the business had become established as one of Dayton’s premier garden centers.
Pete and Shirley started the business on a 2 acre lot at 1915 Troy St. in 1963 and moved to its current 10 acre location at 1309 Brandt Pike, in 1984.
Kossoudji enjoyed toying with Bonsai plants and in 1998 he purchased the assets of the Indoor Bonsai Co. of Cincinnati. The garden center still maintains one of the best collections of Bonsai in the region.
Their son, Rick Kossoudji, said about the center in 2017, ”You name it; we’ve got it. We try to have something of everything. There is always something we don’t have, but that is something we are looking forward to getting next year."
The business is known for their catchy advertising jingle...“North Dayton. North Dayton. North Dayton Garden Center.”
“Dad definitely was a marketer. He got his start delivering the Dayton Daily News and was always fond of reading it,” Steve said.
“Dad was a great Daytonian. He loved everything about Dayton.”
The business will be closed Thursday and Friday. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Marker and Heller Funeral Home in Huber Heights. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 500 Belmonte Park North.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church or to the Wegerzyn Gardens Foundation.
