Local First Friday: Valley View Farms

Guest Blog by Joelle Lang

The history behind it:

Valley View Farms has grown from a small roadside produce stand to one of the largest, most complete garden centers in the Mid-Atlantic region. Brothers Billy and Punkey Foard opened Valley View Farms on Friday, April 13, 1962, as a produce stand to augment a largest wholesale vegetable growing operation. As the store expanded in size to become the premiere garden center in the Baltimore metro area, several year-round and seasonal departments were added that have provided a continuously dynamic shooing experience for our customers. Today, Valley View Farms is owned and operated by father and son team, Billy and Andy Foard.

What it’s like today:

Valley View Farms is located Cockeysville/Hunt Valley, Maryland, and open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. During the spring season, Valley View Farms offers a complete selection of trees and shrubs, vegetable and flowering annual and perennial plants, and planters, trellis, soil, and other planting accessories necessary to help customers achieve success in their gardens. They also have a patio furniture department. The Water Garden department is stocked with waterlilies, aquatic plants, fish, and accessories. In the fall, Valley View Farms becomes a holiday wonderland, with decorated trees, a huge outdoor lights display, and an international Christmas shop with ornaments and gifts from around the world.   

What makes it special:

Valley View Farms is family-owned and operated, and visiting the farm is a family tradition for a lot of local families. Valley View Farms also provides the largest selection of vegetable and flowering annual and perennial plants in the states and promises a unique garden shopping experience.  

About the Author 

Joelle Lang, a senior at the University of Maryland, College Park, is a multi-platform journalism student in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. This autumn, she is also an editorial intern for Washington Gardener Magazine.

"Local First Friday" is a weekly blog series profiling independent garden businesses in the greater Washington, DC, and Mid-Atlantic region. Washington Gardener Magazine believes strongly in supporting and sourcing from local businesses first!