As cellular phones and computers remind us of the impending future, it's nice to take a step into the past. Afternoon getaways for freshly grown plants and produce are therapeutic. It's refreshing to talk to the actual person who grew your annuals or vegetables.

Wilson Farms in Lexington, Mass., has been a provider of freshly grown plants and produce since 1884. The store is a daily stop for many local residents and a frequent weekend destination for people from as far away as Cape Cod.

Shoppers get what they come for. This is no faux farm; it's the real deal. Wilson Farms grows ornamentals and vegetables on its 33-acre Lexington site and on 250 acres in Litchfield, N.H. The Wilsons grow about half of the store's garden plants and produce.

Though the garden center/grocery store is a staple in the community, the Wilson family knows it cannot sit back and let the store take care of itself. Continual improvement is still needed. For modernizing without losing its old-fashioned atmosphere and for stressing personalized customer service, Wilson Farms is the recipient of the 1999 Garden Center Innovator of the Year Award.

The new farm stand

One of Wilson Farms' most recent challenges was constructing a new main retail building without losing the store's 19th-century feel.

"Our niche in the market is high quality and the visit-the-farm, down-home appeal," said co-owner Scott Wilson. "We wanted to match that family-owned-business image with the new facility, and we succeeded."

The old building was constructed in the early 1960s and was not designed for aesthetics, though it was improved over the years, Scott said. Groundbreaking on the new building, which sits 3 inches behind the old facility's site, took place in 1996.

"We traveled and looked at all types of existing buildings to see what we wanted. We looked at metal and at typical 2-by-4 buildings ... then we saw a timber-frame structure and we knew immediately that's what we wanted to do," Scott said.

The Douglas fir timbers for the new building, which totals about 18,000 square feet on two levels, were reclaimed from old buildings and bridges. Entry rafters came from a U.S. Army arsenal in Minnesota. Heavy support beams came from the Royal Typewriter factory in Hartford, Conn. Rafters came from a railroad trestle near Salt Lake City. Other timbers came from Washington, Idaho, Ohio, Rhode Island and New Jersey.

Atmosphere achieved

Most new visitors wouldn't guess the building was built this century, much less in the last five years. From both the outside and inside the store looks like a remodeled old barn.

Construction cost just more than $1 million and total retail selling space within the building is 9,000 square feet. Departments within include florist, produce and bakery. Garden plants are sold in and in front of the building seasonally. The bottom level is a preparation area.

"It's a burden having two levels because it requires conveyors to get product from the prep area to the retail area, but it's something we have to do," Scott said. "The garden center and the retail farm stand sit on street level, then the grade drops off dramatically from there."

Designers found a way to emphasize the timber-frame architecture but leave floor space open to make shopping easier.

"Customers absolutely love it. We've gotten a tremendous response," Scott said. "They love the large amount of space they're given in the aisles. We have new carts so they don't have to carry hand-held baskets. Not only are our customer numbers up, but the average sales are up, too."

The checkout area layout is improved over the old facility as well. People aren't waiting in line as long, which Scott said has improved parking lot turnover by 20-30 percent.

The 35-by-25-foot garden center building, with an adjacent 30-by-40-foot retail greenhouse, will soon be remodeled to match the new farm stand.

Customers first

Even though the facility looks 19th century, it wouldn't feel 19th century if personalized customer service wasn't there. Friendly, attentive employees are just as important as architecture, said promotions manager Stephen Wilson.

Employees are encouraged to converse with customers and learn their names. They are also asked to fulfill almost any customer request.

"Most people who come in have their favorite employees they like to talk to. We try to get on a personal level instead of having typical store/customer relationships," Stephen said. "We have to keep in mind that the customer is always No. 1. We try very hard to avoid telling people no. In fact, I can't remember many times that we've done that."

If a customer requests an unusual food product or plant, employees go out of their way to find a U.S. or foreign supplier of that item. Stephen said this practice rarely leads to profits on that individual sale, but customer remember the effort and tell their friends about Wilson Farms.

"One of the more unusual requests we're getting these days are edible flowers, such as pansies and rose petals," Stephen said. "Not a ton of people want them, they're expensive and they have short shelflives, but we try to keep some in stock for those people who do want them." The store has a suggestion box and every customer with a comment receives a response from Scott's wife, Didi Wilson, either in writing or over the phone. "That's something that makes them feel important -- like we appreciate their input. Didi does that weekly," Stephen said.

Wilson Farms Inc. Location: Lexington, Mass., and Litchfield, N.H. Founded: 1884 by Irish immigrants James Alexander Wilson, W.M. Wilson and George Renyolds. Employees: 125. Annual sales: $15 million-$18 million, 10 to 20 percent coming from gardening product sales. Average sale: $30.

Previous winners of Garden Center Magazine's Innovator of the Year Award: 1998: Ashcombe Farm & Greenhouses, Mechanicsburg, Pa. 1997: New Garden Landscaping & Nursery, Greensboro, N.C. 1996: Timber Creek Nursery and Garden Center, Ellisville, Mo.

. © 1999 Branch-Smith Publishing