Adams Fairacre Farms has a sweet tradition of mounting Lawn and Garden Shows at each of its locations just when we need them the most: in the dead of winter. The annual shows take place in each store’s greenhouse and feature live plants and shrubs that have been forced to bloom for our delight.
Talking with manager Mike Paesano at the Kingston store, I learned that each Adams – Kingston, Newburgh, Wappinger and Poughkeepsie – has its own landscape design team that puts together the displays. They close down the greenhouse after the holidays and start moving in hardscaping elements and mulch to create the displays of trees and shrubs and flowers.
“Everything is organized in each location,” says Paesano. “We’ve been doing it for a while now, and every year we tweak it a little more – take mental and written notes on what we can do for next year to make it a little better. I love it. It’s the best ten days of the year for our store, I think. Not businesswise; it’s just a great feeling. Customers look forward to it. They pull into the parking lot and know they’re going to feel spring. They can sit in here, have lunch and enjoy their day anytime from Friday to the following Sunday.”
“We’ll have vendors from different types of garden organizations for the whole weekend: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It’s just beautiful. The landscaping division put together a different design this year, with walkways and water features. And we’re going to have a nice area to show our respects for Donald Adams, who passed this past year.”
This is the third year that the Kingston store will have a wedding display. Brides can talk with the floral designers on staff, check out the wedding-cake display and have a sample cupcake on Saturday, March 7. “On the back end, we’ll have a food show with local food vendors and a band on Saturday, March 14 from 11 to 3. Tents will be wrapped around this greenhouse. People can come inside and have a snack, listen to some live music.”
The Lawn and Garden Show inspires home gardeners to reimagine their patios, ponds, walkways and wherever they might put any of the hundreds of flowering spring bulbs, annuals, trees and shrubs from the greenhouses. Knowledgeable garden staffers will be on hand to answer questions. The Lawn and Garden Show is free and also includes seminars, giveaways and free raffles. Click on a store location for information on vendors, events, giveaways and more.
“The show is something that Mr. Adams put together 40 years ago. It’s special to all of us because we know how much it meant to him. This showcases what he loved,” says Paesano.
There’s still time to check out the Lawn and Garden Shows in Poughkeepsie and Newburgh, ending on Sunday, March 8. In Kingston and Wappinger, the shows begin on Friday, March 6 and run through Sunday, March 15. Check the website for talks and demos, such as seed-starting for kids, and the food shows being held at each of the four locations: https://adamsfarms.com/events. And in another Adams’ endeavor, the Kingston store is currently accepting pet food and pet supplies for the Ulster County SPCA throughout the month of March. Just drop off your donation at their Kingston office and they’ll deliver it to the animal shelter for you.
Join the family! 
