Colonial Gardens

Long-running Blue Springs, Missouri garden center, working farm, farm-to-table dining venue, and event space — operating since 1969 and, as of February 2026, owned and operated by the nonprofit Powell Gardens under the name Powell Gardens Colonial Farms.

Description

Colonial Gardens is a garden center, working farm, and experiential destination in Blue Springs, Missouri, on the eastern edge of the Kansas City metro. Alongside its retail nursery and plant operations, the site has developed a farm-to-table dining program, a cafe, and an events/venue business, positioning itself as both a horticultural retailer and a community destination. It was ranked the top independent garden center in Missouri and #64 nationally by Garden Center magazine in 2025.

The dining and hospitality side has operated under names including Colonial Kitchen (a farm-to-table restaurant nested inside the garden center and working farm) and a cafe space referred to as the Whistle Stop, with a menu built around local and seasonal ingredients sourced from area producers.

As of 2026 the property is being operated as a “second site” of Powell Gardens, the regional nonprofit botanical garden, under the name Powell Gardens Colonial Farms, with an expanded emphasis on regenerative agriculture, education, and public programming.

Ownership and history

Colonial Gardens traces its roots to 1969 and operated for decades as Colonial Nursery. It was purchased in 2016 by Tory Schwope — whose family had earlier owned the property as Schwope Brothers Tree Farm — and rebranded from Colonial Nursery to Colonial Gardens that year. The business became one of the green-industry brands held under DCA Outdoor, a parent company Schwope founded in 2016 to consolidate roughly a dozen nursery-production, landscape-distribution, and retail garden-center operations.

DCA Outdoor filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2025. On February 26, 2026, the nonprofit Powell Gardens acquired the Colonial Gardens property, purchasing seven parcels from Colonial Gardens Development for a reported $4.8 million per Jackson County property records. Powell Gardens announced it would operate the site as Powell Gardens Colonial Farms and held a grand-opening celebration in March 2026.

Tier classification

Tier 2 (provisional). Colonial Gardens is a genuinely local, long-rooted (since 1969) Blue Springs institution with deep ties to the eastern metro, which argues for strong local standing. However, it is no longer an independent family-owned business: as of February 2026 it is owned and operated by Powell Gardens, a regional nonprofit botanical garden. Because the current operator is an institutional nonprofit rather than a born-and-raised owner-proprietor, and the prior owner (DCA Outdoor) was a multi-brand holding company, this sits more naturally at Tier 2 than Tier 1.

Links

• Website: https://www.colonialgardenskc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colonial.gardens.kc/ (also https://www.instagram.com/colonialfarmskc/)
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colonialgardenskc

See also

• blue-springs
• independence-mo
• Registry

Sources

1. Garden Center magazine — “Kansas City botanical garden Powell Gardens acquires IGC Colonial Gardens” — https://www.gardencentermag.com/news/colonial-gardens-powell-gardens-botanical-garden-kansas-city-garden-center/ — accessed 2026-05-30
2. KSHB 41 — “Powell Gardens acquires Colonial Gardens in Blue Springs” — https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/missouri/jackson-county/powell-gardens-acquires-colonial-gardens-in-blue-springs — accessed 2026-05-30
3. Powell Gardens — “Powell Gardens Acquires Colonial Gardens” / “Colonial Farms” — https://powellgardens.org/powell-gardens-acquires-colonial-gardens/ — accessed 2026-05-30
4. Colonial Gardens / Colonial Farms official site (incl. contact page) — https://www.colonialgardenskc.com/ — accessed 2026-05-30

Verification

Drafted 2026-05-30 from web research; 4 independent sources (Garden Center magazine, KSHB, Powell Gardens, official site), corroborated by Fox4KC, KCTV5, and KCUR coverage of the same acquisition. (2) OWNERSHIP CHANGE — base data’s “Family-Owned” is now outdated; as of Feb 26, 2026 the business is owned by nonprofit Powell Gardens and rebranding to “Powell Gardens Colonial Farms.” Founding year confirmed as 1969 (not “2010s” as in base data; the restaurant/farm-to-table concept is the newer element). Website confirmed as colonialgardenskc.com (base data’s colonialgardensbs.com not verified). Unverified: current exact restaurant branding/hours under new ownership; Schwope family KC-native status for tiering.