Favorites: Papa John's

No - not the pizza place.

Most people in Anne Arundel county have driven past the big red barn and know that Papa John's is a great place to buy plants in the spring, produce in the summer, and pumpkins in the fall.

Papa John's has been around for as long as I can remember.  When I was a teenager, some of my friends even worked there during the summer.  The farm is run by the Schillinger family and is one of the few working farms left in northern Anne Arundel County.  With the exception of tropicals, all of the plants they sell are grown on the farm from seed or plugs. 

My daughter and I visited the farm on Saturday and left with a flat of mixed annuals (10 four-packs) and a 4 inch potted fuchsia for about $19.  We enjoyed walking through the greenhouses (there are nine total), which were packed full of annuals, herbs, and vegetables.  They had a wide range of hanging baskets and other "pre-made" garden items.  My daughter really liked a large pink plastic pig which looked like it might be a watering can, but was planted with annuals.  There was also a smaller selection of perennials out on the lawn.

One of the things I like best about Papa John's annuals is you have some choice in the size of the plant you're buying.  At the nearest big box hardware store, the annuals they're selling are tall and blooming.  This may seem like a good thing, but it really means the plants are most of the way through their short growing cycle and probably won't put much effort towards growing more roots and getting bigger once they're planted.

Papa Johns has those plants as well, but they also have plants that are only a few weeks old with buds and even plants that don't have buds yet.  After reading an article about annuals on the Renegade Gardener's website, I always try to buy the annuals that are the least mature.

I've been getting my annuals and herbs from Papa John's for about five years.  In my experience, they are cheaper than the hardware store plants and they consistently outperform them.  I don't know whether it's because they're grown locally and are suited to the weather, because I choose the smallest plants, or for some other reason, but they always do well.  I spent about $50 at Papa John's last year, and I swear those annuals helped sell our old house.

More background information about Papa John's in available in this 2010 article from Examiner.com.

Address:
8065 New Cut Road
Severn, Maryland 21144
(410) 969-8810
http://www.papajohnsfarm.net/Home.html

Hours:
8:00am - 7:00pm, Monday - Saturday
9:00am - 6:00pm, Sunday