Our History

The roots of Arbor-Nomics trace back to the founder, Dick Bare’s maternal family. Her brothers, Art, Harold, and Dave Metzger, started a plant growing nursery in Youngstown, Ohio in the 1930s called Terrace Gardens. Initially run from their house by Mill Creek Park, in 1935 they moved it to a location in Canfield on Tippecanoe Rd. This was right next to Dick’s father’s family. John Bare, Dick’s father, went to work for the nursery, and a romance blossomed between him and Eloise Metzger. They were married on July 1, 1942, at Terrace Gardens, and although on January 5, 1943, John shipped out to serve overseas in World War II, he survived, and they had a family of three children. Dick was the oldest of the brood and grew up working for the nursery as well. In 1956, one of the Metzger brothers, Art, moved to California, and John Bare bought his shares over a ten-year period. Terrace Gardens, known for its high-quality landscaping work, flourished. Dick then went on to The Ohio State University and earned his horticulture degree in 1970.

Upon graduation, Dick started a landscaping company in the Columbus area called MagnaGro. After a few years, the company was sold, and he went to work for ChemLawn, working in their tree and shrub treatment division. He was transferred to the Chicago area in 1976, and then to Atlanta in 1978.

In 1980, Dick quit ChemLawn and founded Arbor-Nomics, initially focusing on the Dunwoody area but eventually expanding to the greater metropolitan Atlanta area. The business, first operated out of the family home in Peachtree Corners, was later relocated to an office building at 5634 Buford Highway in Norcross. In 1988, he added turf care to the company’s offerings, and in November of 1996, he brought on Doug Cash to oversee operations. By the late 1990s, the company’s revenue exceeded $1,000,000, and a branch was opened in the Marietta area as well. Tricia Houck, his daughter and a UGA CPA graduate, joined the team in October of 1998.