Sunny Hill owners announce retirement, closing of business

Sunny Hill Gardens & Florist, a familiar site for decades at 206 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau, has announced via social media its imminent closing.

"It is with heavy hearts that we have to announce this will be our final season," read Sunny Hill's Facebook post Monday. "After 30 years, Paul and Marilyn Schnare are retiring and intend to close the business when inventory is depleted."

Paul Schnare, affectionately known as "Dr. Grow," began a weekly gardening tips column for the Southeast Missourian in the mid-1990s, which ended two years ago.

"I like gardening, and I like people who do gardening because it gives them a different perspective on life. A lot of people have never grown even a tomato; they go to the grocery store and think that's where food comes from," Schnare told TBY Magazine in 2020. "My dad gave me a hoe and a spade and put me to work."

A sale began Monday at Sunny Hill and "Garden Bucks" will be honored.

Customers shop for new plants March 19, 2021, at Sunny Hill Gardens & Florist, 206 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. Paul and Marilyn Schnare announced Monday their retirement and the impending closing of the business.Southeast Missourian file