It All Started with the Bash Seed Company…
A long time ago, Solomon Bash (1827-1912) was born in Starke County, Ohio. In 1848, he moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana and married Rebecca Ketterer in 1852. Together, they had five sons and one daughter.
In 1856, Bash and a man named Stewart Eakin formed a grain-dealing business called Bash and Eakin. After the business failed, Bash started his own grain-dealing operation and called it S. Bash and Company.
In 1906, one of Bash’s sons, Daniel Francis Bash (1858-1943), opened Bash’s Seed Store at 141 N. Delaware Street in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. He was assisted in the store’s operations by three of his sons: S. Douglas, Daniel K., and Jerome K.S.
Douglas and his wife Pauline opened their own store in 1926, located nearby at 201 N. Delaware Street, and called it S.D. Bash Seed Boxes. A short time later, the store was relocated to 205 N. Delaware and named Quality Seed Store.
Our History
In June 1932, Daniel and Jerome Bash acquired the 141 N. Delaware store from their father. When Daniel Bash died in 1945, ownership was divided between Jerome and another Bash brother, Richard Francis. At some point, (daughter?) Pauline Bash acquired and combined the inventory of both stores and closed Quality Seed Store, keeping Bash’s Seed Store.
In 1973, the store was moved to 130 N. Delaware, and in 1975, it was sold to William (Bill) Merrill and Patty Evard, who formed the 130 N. Delaware Corporation. It was at this time that Bill and Patty also acquired Scott’s Garden Center at 3205 W. 71st Street. In 2018, ready to retire, Bill and Patty sold the property to Leah Flanagan, who formed The Forest Flower.
Leah spent the next few years rehabbing and preserving the old Garden Center, breathing new life into this iconic neighborhood fixture. In 2019, Leah commissioned the mural you see on the main building’s west side. The MuckRock mural, painted by English street artist Jules Muck, depicts one of Indiana’s most beloved native flower species, the Purple Coneflower, being visited by bees.
In 2023, The Forest Flower sold the property to what is now Alice’s Garden. And another new chapter begins…
