Plant enthusiasts with a green thumb can find gardening supplies from plants to lawnmowers for their small garden or large farm at Longleaf Farm and Garden in Poplarville.

Teresa Barry and her husband David have co-owned the store for almost 10 years.

“It’s a bit challenging because we’re together all day long but we do manage to co-run the store,” Teresa said. “We do a little bit of everything here at the shop.”

She said they sell everything a gardener or farmer would need including fertilizer, animal care products, gardening supplies and outdoor furniture.

They also have a greenhouse, where they sell a variety of plants, including strawberry plants.

“We also have a small engine repair shop, where customers can bring in gardening equipment like lawnmowers to get repaired,” she said.

But David and Teresa weren’t always in the gardening industry.

“We came from the mental health field actually,” she said.

Teresa worked in a private psychiatric office in New York, while her husband worked admissions in an emergency room.

“I actually grew up in Poplarville, so once we decided to get out of New York because taxes were too high, we came down here,” she said.

When they moved back, Teresa said her husband started working a part-time job at Longleaf for the previous owner.

“We have always loved to garden. After the previous owner got tired of the business, he offered for us to buy the place, and we did,” Teresa said.

Since then, she said it’s been very hard yet rewarding work.

“We do get a lot of help from high school and college students though,” she said.

Some of their high school employees come from the Poplarville High School.

“The high school has a work-study program for students who probably won’t go to college, whether it’s because of their financial situation, lack of motivation or whatever the case,” she said. “So we provide a place where these students can receive work experience before they go out into the workforce.”

Barry said the students work five days a week during school hours and receive valuable work experience.

“My husband has also been over to the high school to talk to students there about how to succeed in business, and the importance of punctuality and hard work,” she said.

Longleaf Farm and Garden is located at 104 West Magnolia St. in Poplarville. The shop is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.