MIDDLEBURY — Once upon a time, Peter Cousineau could easily have seen himself creating music with his voice and through a piano.

So in 1992, he moved from his family home near Potsdam, N.Y., to Boulder, Colo., to enter music school at the University of Colorado.

But what he found upon entering the Centennial State was a change of heart. And Cousineau has always marched to his own tune.

“I didn’t feel that school was going to be my thing,” he recalled during an interview on Monday. “I knew I wanted to do something that I loved. I chose gardening.”

His affinity for horticulture had taken root as a child, alongside his grandmother, at a 6-acre property in Northern New York. And now that love has blossomed into a new business: Toad Hall Flowers, located in the lower level of the historic Gashouse building in downtown Middlebury next to the Marble Works shopping complex.

What’s behind the store’s amphibian moniker?

Cousineau explained that “Toad Hall” is taken from the storybook residence of “Mr. Toad” from “The Wind in the Willows” a novel by Kenneth Grahame. More than that, one of Cousineau’s first clients had a home dubbed “Toad Hall,” the name — along with a toad depiction — emblazoned on a plaque attached to the estate.

“I like the tongue-in-cheek aspect to it, the whimsy and the playfulness,” said Cousineau, who was subsequently given the plaque as a gift.

Monday saw Cousineau organizing his wares inside the roughly 800-square-foot, garden and home accessories Toad Hall Flowers space that was temporarily in a mini-construction zone. An excavator was laying down gravel and making other improvements to an embankment that contributes to the cozy entrance to the new business. Cousineau — who some would swear has two green thumbs — plans on dressing up the entrance with colorful landscaping to help draw customers from Printer’s Alley.

The Gashouse location is just a short hop from 48 Main St., former home to Elly Parr Jewelry, where Toad Hall first landed as a three-month pop-up store. That led to a more permanent opportunity in the Gashouse.

“I fell into having this store by accident,” Cousineau said.

He had already built a reputation as a landscaper and flowers-and-produce grower through a business he created back in 2008 called Four Pillars Farmstead, based in Whiting. Cousineau grows the vast majority of his flowers at the 15-acre farmstead, which also offers two guest rooms for overnight stays surrounded by burgeoning blossoms.

Cousineau thought he’d expand his gardening footprint through appearances at last year’s Midd Summer Markets in Triangle Park.

“The response I got from my flowers was unexpected. I knew the flowers that I grew were somewhat different from a lot of the flowers that are around, and that seemed to be the (positive) response I was getting,” he said.

This emboldened Cousineau to try the aforementioned pop-up at 48 Main St.

“It did really well. I didn’t really know if this was something people wanted, and it seemed like they did,” he said of Toad Hall’s trial hop.

Cousineau resolved to find a permanent spot for his store that was better suited to showcasing flowers, gardening accessories and other curated items.

“I happened to walk through the Marble Works to get something from the Stone Leaf Teahouse and realized this area had a lot of potential for me,” he said. “I thought it was a cool little neighborhood.”

He asked at the time if there were any Marble Works vacancies and learned the Gashouse spot — once home to LandWorks — had been empty for a couple of years. It has a rustic, stone-wall interior.

“I walked in, and I was immediately excited and knew this was exactly the right space for what I wanted to do,” Cousineau said. “The Marble Works owners have been great at letting me have carte blanche on what I want to do.”

A perusal of Toad Hall Flowers on this day yielded displays of Japanese fishing balls, natural stones, ceramic pots of several colors and sizes, baskets, coasters, tea sets, pillows, outdoor specimen collecting kits, incense, honey infusions, palm stones, “aura clearing” sprays, spades, trowels, whiskbrooms and many other things.

Toad Hall Flowers opened its doors on April 5; its grand opening is set for June 20-22. Store hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., every day of the week except Sundays and Wednesdays.

WHIMSY IN STOCK

Cousineau takes great care in selecting his store’s offerings, designed to impart a sense of “whimsy meets the woods.”

Some of the merchandise is handmade locally by craftspeople and artisans whose products dovetail with Cousineau’s vision for Toad Hall. He sources additional vintage pieces through thrifts shops, while other items via online trade shows.

“I’ll be traveling to source some of it, too,” he said. “My ultimate goal would be to spend time traveling to find unique and interesting stuff for the shop.”

Flowers from his own farm will of course remain a staple, and Toad Hall is also in the knowledge business. It’s offering workshops on arranging flowers and creating terrariums, among other things.

“It’s a way for our shop to reach out to the community and give them a chance not to just come and buy stuff, but also be interactive with the things they’re buying,” Cousineau said.

The workshops sell out fast and Cousineau remains in high demand for garden consulting, whether it’s questions people might have about garden design, sourcing materials, or caring for what they grow.

Cousineau wants to make sure his customers leave satisfied, but he also doesn’t want them to get stressed out.

“I want people to feel a sense of wonder and fun, to play with their space and not take it too seriously. If something doesn’t work, you can easily change it,” he said.

And rest assured, he takes his own advice.

“I want (customers) to get that sense that things are always changing in in the store,” Cousineau said. “I think I’ve changed my displays every week, almost completely. It’s part of the fun.”

For more information and Toad Hall Flowers and Four Pillars Farmstead, got to thefourpillarsfarmstead.com.

John Flowers is at [email protected].