INDIANAPOLIS — Different and quirky are two words Amy Lapka uses to describe Digs Garden Center.
“It feels like a little green oasis in the city and the chaos of the city,” Lapka said. “We've got this, this little gem with our water features and our tropical plants.”
Two items you might not expect to find nestled in the shadows of the North Split amid the hum of traffic and echoes of train horns. It’s a space that was previously occupied by Digs’ parent company, Heath Outdoors.
“They decided, with the new development here, we really want to be good neighbors,” Lapka said. “So we decided to pivot [and] move our landscaping company somewhere else, and develop something more palatable to the development plans in this zone.”
The North Mass Creative and Commercial Corridor has seen quite a bit of change in the past few years. Once dominated by industry, it’s an area that’s now home to more people-focused developments like North Mass Boulder. Bringing new life to an area that often went overlooked.
Breathing life into once discarded items is core to the way Digs operates.
“Almost everything you see here is a re-purposed material,” Lapka said. “Whether it's our delivery van, our grain bins, all the way down to the tables and displays for our plants”
Lapka, Heath Outdoors’ director of urban marketplace, recently took WRTV on a tour of the Digs property at 1302 Columbia in Indianapolis. The garden center and event space is dominated by colorful plants and bubbling fountains.
“All of the farmers and growers that we buy from are mostly local,” Lapka said. “When you're supporting us, you're not just supporting a local business, you're also supporting our methods of sustainability.”
Sustaining adult guests is also in the works.
“We're developing our own distillery and taproom here, and soon we'll be able to give you a cocktail while you're doing your plant shopping,” Lapka said.
Digs will also hold its 4th Annual Fall Fest on September 21. The family friendly event will offer music, crafts, food, art and hayrides. Click here to purchase tickets.
