Owners Colin (75) and Mavis McBeath (73) are getting ready to retire after managing the family business since 1965.
''We've worked aside one another all our married life,'' Mrs McBeath said.
The couple relocated from Christchurch to manage the shop and bought the Dunedin branch from Mrs McBeath's family in the late 1980s.
Four generations of the family have been employed at the garden centre and three of their five children - Diana (52), Julie (51) and Duncan (47) - still work there now.
The decision to close the nursery was an easy one in the end. Pressure from competition and a desire to relax after decades of work were the main reasons for the closure.
''We certainly can't compete with the ambience of big stores,'' Mr McBeath said.
Long winters and miserable springs also made business tough, he said.
Retirement appealed to both of them, as they had seldom taken holidays because they were always needed at work.
''We never had a full fortnight's holiday,'' Mrs McBeath said.
Although they both wanted to spend more time on the golf course, gardening would still be a part of their time off, they said.
''We would like to spend more time on our own garden,'' Mrs McBeath said.
The McBeaths have not decided what to do with the Belleknowes nursery after it closes but are looking at residential development. The final closing date is yet to be set.
- James Hall
