 Meadows Farms History The Farmer's Story I haven't always been known as the Farmer. While I was growing up in West Virginia and later when I was teaching school there, I went by my given name--Bill Meadows. It was the produce wholesalers in Washington, DC, who christened me "the Farmer" when I was selling fruits and vegetables from a roadside stand in Virginia, and I suppose that's where my story really begins. In the mid-sixties I had been a public school teacher in Fairfax County and my wife, Betty, was a librarian with the school. Surprisingly, I wasn't teaching horticulture: I was a physical education instructor and football coach. Teaching as a profession gets restrictive for a budding entrepreneur, but it has one big benefit--a long summer vacation. On the side, I was growing produce on my small farm and decided to market it myself to fill my "spare time." I went through all kinds of schemes to get my produce to market--I started by hiring students to go door-to-door with the goods in little red wagons (we still use these red wagons in my nurseries)! That approach was short-lived, and so I began the huckstering life--selling directly from a truck along the highways. Ordinances in the growing area around Fairfax discouraged road-side peddling after I got started, so I struck deals with local gas station owners who let me lease space on their lots for my colorful trucks--which eventually numbered 141. Then those arrangements got clamped by local laws. 
The year was 1967 and the place was Sterling, Virginia.
I gave up teaching the following year--and Meadows Farms became my full-time vocation. Yet it would be three years before I considered selling my first shrub. My commercial fruit and vegetable operation gave me the chance to really develop my buying and selling style. I was wholesale-buying my produce by now--my gentleman farmer days gone-and I carefully shopped and bid on my fresh stock. That's how the wholesellers got to know me. On the selling side, I looked at my business from the viewpoint of the customer. (I still do.) I guess you could say I'm a believer in showmanship--I wanted to make shopping with Meadows Farms memorable and fun. So I had my clerks dress in 1800's style costumes: we had bluegrass bands playing: apple butter was being made on the premise: and we always made a point of displaying our "wares" in a festive, attractive fashion. Promotion was essential and "Farmer Bill" was featured in radio ads. The combination took off and our business was on its way! 1972 rolled along and one day a plant distributor noted our success. He thought we might benefit from selling some plants, too. I had dabbled with the idea before, but this time I took the plunge and I ordered a full trailertruck load. As it turned out, with Meadows Farms merchandising, the whole load sold in just one weekend! That really got me to thinking! Becoming a nurseryman had its growing appeal, and in 1974 we incorporated the nursery business and phased out vegetables and fruits. This transition changed forever the character of Meadows Farms. As the area grew around us and as our reputation grew, our indoor and outdoor offerings increased. Then our locations budded, steadily, all around the Beltway. In early 1982, the Landscape Nursery was incorporated, down the road in Herndon, just 5 miles from our main offices. The nursery grounds there stock all the necessary equipment and plantings for landscaping on about 5 acres of land. This marked the beginning of our major commitment to landscape design and installation, now with burgeoning crews and a team of designers. We have outgrown this location and have moved to a 30 acre location on Route 50. With size comes complications--but I make it a point to keep my nurseries feeling friendly and having old-time simplicity. The staff is encouraged to be helpful: signs are out with instructions about plantings (how to care for them and how to buy them), and we keep a close watch on the quality of the plantings, just like in the early days. My employees are extremely courteous, and I like the feeling of a large family to be here at Meadows Farms. Our unity and our ability to please our customers stems from the loyalty my employees build up here. To make sure that busy seasons aren't too taxing on my personal staff, I watch for fatigue and schedule Rest-and- Relaxation trips for them. I believe that people, every bit as much as price and selection, have made the "Farmer Meadows Story" possible. My story of part-time-vegetable-peddler grown into major-nurseryman-in-the-U.S. attracted the attention of the organizers of the Entrepreneurship Forum in the fall of 1982, an event of major proportions designed to help others create a success story in their own businesses. As a keynote speaker, I was able to share this true-life success story with over 500 attendees, just as I'm sharing it with you here. And in 1983, I launched another special kind of farming venture--I acquired a farm in Orange County, Virginia and began building a herd of prize beef cattle, with a buyer on the road, roaming the nation and selecting the best animals. (I learned that technique at Meadows Farms!) One successful venture "breeds" another, they say. But this activity is more for adventure and pleasure than to make a livelihood--of course, I remember saying exactly that when I began selling my vegetables from a truck one summer. That gets me to thinking again . . .
--Bill "Farmer" Meadows |
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| Corporate office 703-327-3940 Landscape Department in Virginia 703-327-5050 in Maryland 301-353-0606 Outside the Metro area 800-739-6824 | Retail Hours of Operation Monday through Saturday: 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. Sunday: 9 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. May vary at each location Please call for details |
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