Peter MacBride, 53, longtime owner of a Chicago garden shop, died Friday, March 1, of heart disease in Glendale, Calif., where he was spending the winter. Mr. MacBride was an avid gardener best known for running Fertile Delta, once one of the Chicago area’s largest garden centers. He was an expert in all things horticultural, said friends and coworkers. Mr. MacBride was “crazy about plants” even as a youth, said longtime friend Jim Dunn, who said Mr. MacBride loved to visit nurseries in any city he visited. At his Lakeview store, Mr. MacBride was attentive to the needs of big-city clients. “A lot of people who came in had rock gardens or container gardens. They were busy, professional people who didn’t have a lot of time to spend in the garden,” said Hugh Kirk, an employee at Fertile Delta. “Peter would work with them, sometimes following up with a phone call.” Mr. MacBride knew several languages and had traveled the world. He was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and Thunderbird School of International Business Management in Arizona, and he was an accomplished pianist. Survivors include his mother, Martha Harrold MacBride; brothers Thomas and David; and a sister, Laurie. Services are pending.
