Homestead Gardens Celebrates Its 45th Anniversary

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Brian Riddle grew up spending his afternoons at Homestead Gardens.
 
His father purchased the Central Avenue property in Davidsonville in 1973. Since then, it has served as the headquarters for Homestead Gardens.
 
“Being a young child and going to elementary school, I would catch the school bus here at the property, and it would pick me up at the gate and the school was right down the hill,” Riddle said. “Coming home after school, it was like a gigantic playground. I had this whole property.”
 
In 1983, Homestead Gardens expanded to the 100-acre farm on Governor Bridge Road where the bulk of production is. That property has both a nursery and greenhouse production, Riddle said.
 
The Severna Park location on Ritchie Highway didn’t come until 2009. It was important for Homestead Gardens to have a Severna Park location because, though it is only 18 miles from the headquarters, traffic on Ritchie Highway often deters people from making the trip, Riddle said.
 
“My father had wanted to be in Severna Park for many years,” Riddle said. “We feel very, very fortunate to have found that location. It’s been great ever since we got there.
 
As spring approaches, Homestead Gardens is gearing up for its annual spring flower show. The show has a unique twist every year with a different theme.
 
“We kick off our season to kind of prime folks and give them a preview of what’s coming in our spring flower show,” Riddle said.
 
This year, the preview party is on Friday, March 9, and the show itself begins Saturday, March 10. The flower show runs for two weekends.
 
The springtime, Riddle said, is Homestead Gardens’ busiest time of the year. However, after Homestead broadened its product mix to include lifestyle items, the November and December holiday season has been fairly busy, as well.
 
“The diversity has filled in some of those valleys,” Riddle said. “It gives you a greater length to the selling season. The holiday business has been a crucial component [throughout] the years.”
 
The headquarters is now the biggest Christmas shop in the Baltimore-Washington area, Riddle said. During the holiday season, Homestead sells Christmas trees, ornaments, toppers, lights, tree stands, outdoor decors and more. Santa visits both the Davidsonville and Severna Park stores every weekend, and customers are welcome to take their own photos with Santa free of charge. Each store also has a large train display for the holidays.
 
“We’re very proud of our Christmas store,” Riddle said.
 
Homestead Gardens has also found ways to give back to the community over the years.
 
“We’re very community-oriented, so we’re very active with many nonprofits that we support,” Riddle said.
 
The business does in-kind donations, cash donations, sponsorships, silent auctions and offers the space to host events. One of the businesses Homestead Gardens supports is the Severna Park Community Center.
 
“We get solicitations all the time, so we certainly have those that we partner with,” Riddle said.
 
Being an event-driven business, there’s always something going on at Homestead Gardens. For six weekends from September to October, the Davidsonville location hosts the area’s largest farm festival, complete with barnyard animals and a corn maze.
 
Keep your eyes out for an event celebrating Homestead Gardens’ 45th anniversary in the coming months.
 
Homestead Gardens’ Severna Park location is at 522 Ritchie Highway. Its hours are 10:00am-5:00pm daily. The phone number is 410-384-7966.
 
The Davidsonville address is 743 Central Avenue. Its hours are 10:00am-5:00pm daily. The phone number is 410-798-5000.

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