What you see at Farmer Girl will partly depend on when you visit. Year-round (March – December) count on finding plants and shrubs, lawn statuary and fountains, artificial palm trees, lawn and garden supplies, outdoor furniture, parrots and their paraphernalia, exotic birds and toys, plus experienced advice on keeping your lawn and garden thriving.
Spring
Reopening the third week in March, Farmer Girl is bursting with color from flowering plants in time for Easter and Mother’s Day. Spring also brings out flats of vegetable sprouts grown in Farmer Girls own onsite greenhouse and ready for transplant to your own garden. Early visitors can expect novel and trending decorative items for lawn and home to be at their peak from Mary’s buying trips in January and February. Spring is also when the cover comes off the pond and goldfish, Koi and other pond fish become active again.
Summer
Summer brings fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms in Maryland and Delaware. This is where four decades of experience guides Mary to the best produce and producers around. It’s also the busiest time of year as crowds of tourists stop by to find out for themselves just what this oddly-named, much-discussed farm stand that sells parrots is all about.
Fall
Fall is for bargain hunters. When Labor Day arrives and the crush of visitors thins out, Farmer Girl inventories its stock and discounts begin to appear on items throughout the store. Price reductions from 20-30 percent are typical but can go as high as 50 percent.
October is also when Farmer Girl begins dressing up for the holidays. Ornaments, lights, and other decorations emerge as Thanksgiving approaches and Mary and staff brace for Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year at Farmer Girl. Inside, the showroom is overflowing with one of the area’s largest assortments of artificial trees assembled and lighted.
Winter
Outside, Fraser Firs begin arriving the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. In keeping with their tradition of excellence, Farmer Girl features the North Carolina trees for their soft needles, pleasant aroma, and strong straight branches that can support heavier ornaments. Other advantages of Fraser Firs are dense needles, dark blue-green color, and superior needle retention. On Black Friday, the high-end trees are discounted 20 percent for that day only.
By the end of December, Farmer Girl’s year has come to a close. Any fresh trees remaining are hauled off by a local goat farmer who uses them to provide warmth and winter shelter for his herd. Mary takes a deep breath and sets off on her buying trips armed with customers’ suggestions on trending products for the coming season.
