Right after graduating from the University of Maryland, our parents, George and Shirley Butler, purchased a 37 acre farm with a log house, which is where we all grew up.

Initially, we grew 25 acres of peaches and sold them to local grocery stores and at our own small farm market. Now, we have more than 25 varieties of fruits, vegetables, and flowers on over 300 acres!

Three of us each earned horticultural degrees from the University of Maryland and now live and work full time on our family farm. (Our other sister chose the corporate life!) Now, the third generation is coming on board.

The Farm Market
Our farm market started under an apple tree behind the log house selling peaches. Later, it moved to a former chicken house that is now a garage. The red barn was built in 1964 and over the years we increased the variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables we grew and sold.

In the 1970’s, we began selling additional products in our Farm Market, including preserves, local honey, gourmet condiments, seasonal decorative items, cider, and more.



In 1993, we outgrew our original red barn and expanded the farm market to the current facility.

The First Field of Strawberries The first field of strawberries was planted in 1953 on the site of the present market. Pick your own fruit was a new concept in the area, but soon became very popular.

Thornless blackberries and black raspberries were planted in the 1970’s, followed by blueberries, peas, cherries, red raspberries, and apples.

Pick Your Own Pumpkins and Pumpkin Festival We started selling pick your own pumpkins as a project for a high school class. That project led us to create Pumpkinland, a display of fairy tale characters built out of pumpkins, with more added every year. This year, our Annual Pumpkin Festival will celebrate its 30th year! It is one of our biggest attractions and draws families from all over the Washington metropolitan area every October to enjoy the hayrides, giant slides, pony rides, pumpkins, straw maze, delicious country food, and of course, Pumpkinland!

Christmas Trees Cut your own Christmas Trees became available in the late 1970’s. We also began carrying holiday ornaments, fresh roping, and wreaths in the Farm Market. We now have thousands of White Pine and Douglas Fir trees to choose from every year.

Additional Activites on the Farm
At the request of our customers, we have added a number of activities visitors can enjoy throughout the year, including Group Hayrides and Bonfires, Strawberry Blossom Tours, Group Pick Your Own Outings, Bunnyland, and Pumpkin Harvest Days.