Making the switch from aerospace engineer to gardener might seem like an unusual career trajectory, but it's one that's worked out well for Marshall Condon. As the owner of Eden Farms on Stillwater Road puts it, "I've always liked gardening, and this is what I'm happiest doing."
Marshall's love of the land shows at Eden Farms, which he purchased 16 years ago from the Hetling family (back then, it was called Hetling Farms). "We wanted to keep the old farm look," says Marshall. That's why he chose to preserve the original farmhouse and surrounding structures when he took over the property, even though updating windows and floors posed challenges. "Believe me, it would have been a lot easier to bulldoze these buildings and start over," he says. The building now used as the "Garden Center" store got the most dramatic treatment. "The front door used to be over there," he says, jerking his head to the side. "We had this crazy idea the front door should be in the front, so we turned it around."
Originally from central Pennsylvania, Marshall moved to Connecticut in the mid-'60s with an engineering degree to work in the aerospace industry. Next he tried the car business. Then a landscape architect friend introduced him to his current line of work. "I learned a lot from him," says Marshall.
By the time Hetling Farms went on the market, Marshall was ready to open his own gardening center. Since then, he's turned Eden Farms into one of the area's most popular spots to buy flowers and plants of every kind, plus supplies and seasonal items from pies to pumpkins. Next Friday, July 2nd, Eden Farms will open a stand selling local produce. "Since it's been so warm, we've got a lot of great corn from around here," says Marshall. "Usually we'd have to ship it in from Maryland this early in the season."
Marshall relies on other farms for most of his inventory; at about 4.8 acres, Eden Farms is too small to function as a "growing farm." Still, it's about as close as you can get to a country crop in the city, and locals love down-on-the-farm family attractions like autumn's annual hay rides and haunted house.
Even those who've moved away appreciate the authenticity, especially Hetling family members.
"The parents passed away, but their son's wife came to visit a while back. She wanted to see some of the carving her husband did somewhere up in the house," says Marshall.
"It was still there."
Eden Farms is at 947 Stillwater Road, 203-325-3445.
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