By Julie Chai

Business Profile

Walking into Nature’s Alley is like strolling through a well-planned, much-loved garden. On any given day, visitors may be enveloped by the scent of fresh flowers and soothed by calming music and burbling fountains. Everything in the store is creatively displayed to appeal to all of a visitor’s senses, and there are surprises everywhere you turn.

Beginning Saturday, Nature’s Alley will hold a week-long celebration to honor its one-year anniversary at its current location in Midtown Palo Alto. In addition to being a full-service florist, Nature’s Alley specializes in topiaries and offers a wide range of unique, garden-inspired accessories. The store also holds a variety of classes.

More than two decades old, Nature’s Alley is owned by Karen Froniewski who bought the store from its original owners two years ago. A nurse by profession, Froniewski had no business background but knew she wanted to make a major change when she learned that Nature’s Alley’s founders were retiring and putting the store up for sale.

After interviewing several prospective buyers, the founders ultimately sold to Froniewski because they felt she’d be best able to maintain the look and feel they’d spent more than 20 years creating. A lifelong gardener, Froniewski said, “It was like something that’s been my passion for 40 years was being handed to me.”

Shortly after Froniewski purchased Nature’s Alley, which was most recently located in the Allied Arts center in Menlo Park, she learned she’d have to move the store. She found a space for lease in her neighborhood and moved in last June.

Personal touches

Froniewski has taken great care to create an inviting, homey atmosphere at Nature’s Alley. “We try to get to know people,” said employee Jean Marks. “It’s like a watering hole for gardeners.”

“When we moved in, there were four white walls and wall to wall carpet,” Froniewski said. To add warmth and personality, Froniewski commissioned an artist to paint murals of ever-blooming wisteria, topiaries and Froniewski’s cat, Smudgie, on the walls. She also ripped out the carpeting and replaced it with 270-year-old tongue and groove boards that came from a monastery in France.

Unique items

Froniewski is committed to running a business “where customer service is more than lip service.” As part of that philosophy, she carries products that aren’t available everywhere, and supports local artists as much as possible.

“A lot of crafts will be lost if we don’t support them,” Froniewski said. Some locally-made items available at the store include birdhouses made from recycled wood, window boxes, floral-patterned trivets and trays, wreaths and photo cards.

Froniewski has also brought in many products-including baby wear and personal care products-based on customer requests. “If I don’t have something customers want, I’m happy to refer people (elsewhere) or look for it,” Froniewski said.

Visit Nature’s Alley at 2675 C Middlefield Road in Palo Alto or call 326-3632.