This is a true story of ordinary people, dedicated friendships, devoted love and determined hope.

It all began more than 23 years ago when a young man by the name of Bart Kootte met Sharon Robinson. Together they created a life committed to one another that would endure all of life’s challenges. Together they would walk through life toward the fulfillment of a dream they both shared.

It may have started as just Sharon’s vision, but it soon became Bart’s hope and purpose to achieve this goal and share this dream with her. The dream was to establish a garden nursery and eatery. It would be their solace, where they would retire to hard work and great satisfaction in their later years.

Sharon and Bart, just as we all have, pursued their careers independently as they fostered their life together. Bart’s expertise was in the area of construction and building. He worked as a building maintenance man, a construction laborer and then finally started his own contracting company, “Dutchman Construction.”

Sharon worked wherever she could. She was a natural salesperson. Her personality, “I like everybody,” and her philosophical belief, “Treat people the way you would like to be treated,” soon lead to Sharon becoming a successful sales representative for Independent Health.

During their early years together they were able to purchase property and a house in Holland, N.Y. Bart used his skills to renovate this house into their home, while Sharon used her free time, away from work, to transform the outside into an organized but wild garden of assorted plants and flowers, particularly iris. Together they were living their dreams and sharing their hopes.

In May of 2004, Sharon and Bart purchased an old burnt-out barn located on Route-16 in the town of Holland. Then they began using all their resources to renovate and convert it into the restaurant and garden center of their dreams. This was a full time job and an enormous challenge.

Daily they worked together after each had worked their normal jobs. Each night a freshly painted wall or some other accomplishment would move them forward, nourishing their drive and sustaining their hope. Slowly, over the next two years, struggling together, their nursery was near to becoming a reality.

Then tragedy struck; it was May 23, 2006.

Bart was at home waiting for Sharon. Tonight they had planned to go together to pick out the carpet for the upstairs that was to become their antique shop. Bart was cutting the grass while waiting for Sharon, when a State Trooper’s car pulled into the driveway. In an instant, Sharon’s and Bart’s dream had fallen into a void of emotional anguish.

In an instant Bart had learned that Sharon had struck a tree less than a mile from their home and was killed. She was put to rest on that Memorial Day weekend, but Bart would not rest. Determined to fulfill Sharon’s dream, he continued on. Through the pain and sorrow, he worked endlessly to complete the nursery and restaurant.

Overcoming every obstacle, and there were many, Bart struggled with one goal in mind: to open “Robinson’s Gardens” and share Sharon’s dream with the community in which they had placed their roots.

There were some friends who would help, but most of the drive and effort came from Bart. As time passed, he would come to rely on an employee who had befriended both him and Sharon. It was Becky. She had helped Sharon in the design and plans of the nursery, more as a friend than as a consultant.

She shared Sharon’s vision and recognized Bart’s discord. In the summer of 2007, Becky and Bart were married in a ceremony at “Robinson’s Gardens.” Together now, Becky and Bart committed themselves to fulfilling Sharon’s dream. It was a union founded in the love that these three people had for one another. It was a marriage dedicated to the hope that they all shared.

Finally, on November 26, 2007, the restaurant opened. The past six months have continued to bring challenges. Struggles continue to mount; but perseverance, born out of the love shared by Becky and Bart has prevailed.

Today as I write this article, “Robinson’s Gardens” is continuing to bloom. Slowly it will grow and strongly we hope that it will flourish. So if you are ever driving out Route 16 in the town of Holland, N.Y., stop and visit Becky and Bart.

Their life is much more than the Panini sandwiches or their soups of the day. It is much more than the flats of plants found in their greenhouse or the budding of their flowers. Their life is a commitment to the love they have for one another and a hope that Sharon’s dream will remain a treasure entrusted to their keeping.