Owners Paul and Joyce Larson both have family farms in their past. Paul’s grandfather owned a dairy and tobacco farm in Portland, Connecticut, and his father, Bob, owned a dairy farm in Woodstock. Growing up on the farm, Paul helped with his family’s large vegetable garden, as well as their berry plants and flower beds. Not surprisingly, Paul developed an interest in plants at an early age. He also raised capons (meat chickens), grew his own vegetables, worked with the cows on the farm, and even showed a heifer at the Little International Show while studying at UConn. He has worked at several greenhouses and a wholesale nursery in Connecticut. Paul has become a beekeeper and has about a dozen hives – his honey, Paul’s Bees, is sold at the nursery.

Joyce lived near her grandparents’ small farm and enjoyed helping outside in her own family’s vegetable garden. Always preferring outdoor jobs if possible, she worked at a strawberry farm and retail nursery in high school and college. Later Joyce worked at several florists and a greenhouse. Like Paul, she attended the University of Connecticut, majoring in plant science.

After meeting at UConn, Paul and Joyce married and settled in Woodstock, with the dream of having their own business. The rest, as they say, “is history”!