The seeds of a lifelong passion were planted in Kevin Farmer when he was born 50 years ago, and that same love for people and plants has kept the owner of Farmer’s Nursery going.

He is the third generation in his family to run Farmer’s Nursery Inc. The original nursery was opened in the 1950s by Farmer’s grandfather in Austin off of 35th Street. Farmer’s father relocated the nursery to northwest Austin in 1973, and the nursery moved to its current spot on Leander Drive in 1993.

“I would say it’s in my genes to do it,” he said. “I did other stuff when I was younger. I was a paramedic, but I always come back to this. It’s kind of a family deal; I didn’t have much choice.”

The company has changed to keep up with the population growth. Farmer said moving the nursery to where more homes were building offered the business great opportunities.

“People thought we were crazy for moving way out in the country at the time,” Farmer said. “‘You’re moving way out there where there’s nothing out there,’ [they said], but now [the growth has] followed us out here.”
The rapidly growing population also gave large corporations opportunities to increase their presence, but Farmer does not consider stores such as Lowe’s, Home Depot or Wal-Mart as competitors because he said the customer service, expertise and friendly demeanor set the nursery apart.

“People will come in and say, ‘I saw these yellow flowers at Lowe’s, and I really want some of them,’” Farmer said. “We’ll tell them we don’t sell those because they don’t do well here. We’re not just trying to get your money; we’re trying to make it look nice for you and do well for you.”

Late February brought cold weather and rain to the area, but in that time Farmer threw on a jacket and kept working to get the nursery ready for the start of March, which is when business typically ramps up, and for the scheduled opening of an expanded display area.

“I just keep coming out here doing what I am supposed to do,” Farmer said.

Farmer’s Nursery Inc.
1805 Leander Drive, Leander
512-259-4111
www.farmersnursery.com
Spring and summer hours: Mon.-Sat. 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Sun.10 a.m. to 4 p.m.