“I always enjoyed gardening, but I just wanted my yard to be pretty,” Schmidt said. “But during COVID[-19] ... my garden became my sanctuary, my escape.”
Ruth Kinler opened Redenta’s in Lakewood in 1992. Schmidt’s cousin Josh Addison is a manager at the shop and has worked there 14 years. The business is named after Kinler’s Aunt Redenta, who was a nun in Italy and oversaw the abbey garden. Kinler also enjoyed visiting garden centers with family in England and wanted to bring a bit of the community meeting place element she found there to her business in Texas.
When Addison mentioned Kinler was ready to retire and sell the business, Schmidt was intrigued.
“There was some anxiety not knowing what was going to happen next with this place,” Schmidt said. “A little light bulb went off in my head, and I thought, ‘What if I bought Redenta’s?’”
Prior to buying the place in April 2022, Schmidt worked there for seven months. During those months, she saw her coworkers exhibit in-depth knowledge of the industry, met longtime customers and began to understand the vibe of Redenta’s.
“I feel this is a happy place for a lot of people. I can’t take credit for that, because it was this way before I got here,” Schmidt said. “My mission is to continue to be a place to get the same feelings you get out of gardening, whether it’s peace, calmness or joy.”
Schmidt said the inventory includes gardening staples in addition to hard-to-find items, such as agarita, globemallow, Texas sotol, Thai constellation monstera and more.
The reason this diversity is important, Schmidt said, is because their customers range from “those who’ve never owned a house plant and they are looking for the easiest plant they can start” to master gardeners.
She also said they are a destination for local chefs because of their herb selection featuring items such as chocolate mint, strawberry mint, orange mint, spearmint and more.
Getting to know her staff and customers is her favorite element of business ownership. She said she has even found herself crying with customers.
“A lady, who was in her late 80s, said her daughter was sick with cancer,” Schmidt said. “She came in because she was redoing her daughter’s flowerbeds as a surprise while her daughter was in the hospital. I thought that was the sweetest thing for her to do for her daughter.”
Business information
Redenta’s Garden Shop, 2001 Skillman St., Dallas.
214-823-9421. www.redentas.com.
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
