Rustic Roots — A Garden Center with a Twist

By:  | October 28, 2024 |  |  Lincroft

By Emma Sylvia

Kim and Phil Ruggiero made an unlikely dream come true when they opened Rustic Roots Garden Center in Lincroft, and with it, they aim to give back to the community this holiday season.

The Ruggieros moved from Brooklyn to New Jersey years ago, having lived in Lincroft for the past seven years. Phil has a background in the garden center and landscaping industry that dates back four generations. Kim explains, “We moved to Jersey, and he always had a dream of opening up a garden center here.” She elaborates that she is from a different spectrum of business and jokes that she doesn’t have a green thumb. However, the cards were placed in their hands to make a move to establish Phil’s long dream of a Monmouth County garden center. Beloved member of the community, Tommy Gialanella, unfortunately passed away in 2019, leaving his lot dormant for a handful of years. When it went on sale, Phil — a friend of Gialanella and frequent customer of the garden center that he helmed for 40 years — approached his wife: “I think it’s time to do it. I want you to do it with me.”

Since then, Kim explained her new dream: “A garden center with a twist.” Aside from the fare one would see at a typical garden center, she enjoys having a space to host events, as well as having a gift shop with home goods and seasonal decorations. The crux of it all, though, has to be this holiday season. “I love the fall, and I love Christmas,” she says. Aiming to make Rustic Roots “like a Hallmark card,” the Ruggieros plan to make the center a place for everyone in Lincroft to go to. “We’re going to have the fall festival, which goes into the Winter Wonderland of Christmas. We want to bring something back to the community of Lincroft. There’s nowhere around here that has something like that.” Kim is excited for the future, saying: “It’s a dream that I didn’t even know I had. All of a sudden, my wheels are going.”

Kim celebrates the magical milieu that will be occurring in the Winter Wonderland in Rustic Roots. On December 6, Rustic will be hosting the First Annual Lincroft Tree Lighting — and they’re pulling out all the stops. A 25-foot tree has been ordered. And, lamenting that reindeer are not legally permitted to be present in New Jersey, ponies dressed as reindeer will be available for “reindeer rides.” Additionally, Santa Claus will be at the center, ready for a brunch on December 7, 8, and 14, with food, crafts, and letter reading and replies for children’s Christmas lists. There will be artificial trees, real trees, wreaths, garlands, roping and more. 

The Christmas Tree lighting in Lincroft is particularly special, as Kim Ruggiero is partnering with longtime friend and colleague, designer Troy Bianchi-Chinnici. A Christmas tree designer, Bianchi-Chinnici began his career in 1982. He worked in Oakhurst for 30 years, where he started as a decorator and ended up as a buyer. Born and raised in Monmouth County and now living in Philadelphia, Bianchi-Chinnici is ecstatic to continue to be working in his old stomping grounds. “Kim is a friend of mine,” he says. “I’ve been doing her trees since her daughter was a toddler. It escalated from there.” His work having been featured in Design New Jersey, Bianchi-Chinnici prides himself on his Winter Wonderland work. He does interiors, particularly mantles, staircases, and trees. Hoping for a productive season, Bianchi-Chinnici’s beautiful designs and adoration for the season are palpable and will surely bring a unique artistry to Rustic Roots’s holiday season.

The love for Christmas emanates all over the garden center. Ruggiero says, “I love Christmas. I feel like it’s a magical time of the year, whether you’re a kid or you’re an adult.” She lauds the ageless aspect of the holiday, noting that there should never be any age discrimination during the season of giving. “I want this to be the start for everyone in the area to have something to look forward to.” 

Noting that because Rustic Roots is a new business and that this will be the first of their many holiday seasons, there will be a learning curve. “But going forward, I have so many plans. This is just scratching the surface of this place,” Kim says.

Her long-term goals extend well past the end of 2024.

“I have huge expectations. My long-term goals here are to eventually have something bigger for retail and for events.” Already hosting events such as psychic readings, musical bingo, and wreath-making classes, Kim is eager for birthday parties, school trips, and more to occur at the garden center. This spring, the garden center will be hosting a “pick your own.” New at gardening herself, Kim acknowledges the love of greenery at one’s own home that many people have.

“Everyone would love to have a garden in their backyard, but no one wants to take the time of maintaining it or protecting it.” The ‘pick your own’ will be for pros and novices alike, allowing customers to pick whatever ingredients or produce they need right from the ground to cook later. “I’m thinking of all the things I would’ve wanted.” Ruggiero quips, “I always say that I’d be my best customer.”

The customers and the community are at the forefront of Rustic Roots’ mission. The goal is to have a place for the members of the community to go to, whether it be for entertainment or just to get away for a day and have a breath of fresh air.

“The tree lighting is what we’re doing to give back,” she says. “We just want people to come and enjoy the night.” Observing that the land likely would have been taken over by a developer if she and her husband had not purchased the lot, Ruggiero says that what they really wanted was to make a pretty and cozy place for their “little bubble.”

“Lincroft is an amazing place to live. We’re in our own bubble. We all truly look out for each other,” she notes.

Happy to raise her three daughters in such an area, Ruggiero lauds the welcoming and communal aspect of Lincroft. Knowing that New Jerseyans and New Yorkers often have a rough reputation that is sometimes contrary to reality, Ruggiero celebrates her neighborhood. “In some areas, people go into their houses and shut the door, and that’s it. Here, we know each other, we look out for each other, the kids play outside. It’s such an amazing place.”

She reminisces about her own childhood, noting that Lincroft “takes you back to when a kid could be a kid again,” and aims to bring such an atmosphere to Rustic Roots.

“That’s the biggest thing. Let this be the place where kids come and run around. Let them hang out. They get so excited when the summertime comes around because there are all the carnivals, but they only get it for a week,” she notes. She hopes that Rustic Roots is a place where everyone will always have something to look forward to, aiming to have a celebratory event at least once a month. “Even us adults, there’s nothing to do. We want something fun.”

The First Annual Lincroft Christmas Tree Lightning will be the first of many. “I think we have a good future here,” Ruggiero celebrates. “We can all agree that in today’s world, to have something fun to just laugh at, to look past all the craziness, is something to celebrate. It’s a breath of fresh air.”

For more information about Rustic Roots’ holiday schedule, future events, and grand opening, head to RusticRootsGC.com.