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By Kathleen Stanley
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, May 11, 2000; Page H06

People tend to go to Alden Farms for more than just a bag of potting soil or a load of mulch. In fact, you can't even buy such heavy-duty stuff at this appealing Beallsville emporium, about 20 minutes northwest of Gaithersburg.

They go for the hundreds of annuals and perennials that owner David Therriault sells at his 10-year-old shop, the interesting array of garden statuary and fountains, the handsome German-made tools, even the ever-changing selection of ethnic folk tunes collected from around the world that wafts over his three-acre enterprise. It's a destination kind of place, where visitors combine lunch at the nearby Staub's Country Inn or Bassett's in Poolesville with a drive in the country and make a day of it.

"I'd say 85 percent of my customers come from urban areas," says Therriault, who lives in a house that is just steps away from his main shop with his wife, Sandy Wright, and two toddlers, Dylan and Sidney. "But once they come, they tend to come back."

Therriault opened Alden Farms after he and his wife, an international trade analyst, moved out to Beallsville and settled into their 100-year-old farmhouse, formerly the homestead of a 165-acre farm. He had grown up in Potomac, studied horticulture and design at the University of New Hampshire and then spent 10 years "working for everybody in the area" in garden centers and design work.

The couple started Alden Farms by selling just 15 varieties of plants and at first were open only on weekends. In the decade since, he has built four greenhouses, put in fountains, an herb garden, a boxwood garden and turned what had been a garage into a charming shop, complete with rough-hewn ceiling beams, barn-red walls and an intricate stone floor.

Then, just as the whole revival of enthusiasm over garden ornaments was starting to take off about eight years ago, the couple began attending gift shows and buying the kinds of items they liked--and that weren't available at other garden shops. His wife kept the books--and her day job--while Therriault continued to expand the plant offerings and store hours. These days he sells 140 kinds of annuals and more than 200 perennials and stays open six days a week.

"This is what I do, and I have a lot of fun with it," says Therriault with a smile. "It's sort of a not-for-profit business."

Therriault may not have a killer instinct for commerce, but he's obviously got a good eye for design. The shop features an ever-changing array of garden gear, displayed in vignettes that resemble small still lifes. There are birdbaths ($100 to $200) and fountains (around $300) as well as gargoyles, garden plaques and mouth-blown gazing balls wrapped in copper--"more artwork than the typical gazing globes people are used to."

A small second-story area is home to more artistic offerings, including Anna Pugh prints--bold watercolor scenes of farmyards and animals--plus pottery and other decorative items.

Alongside the decorative the shop also carries plenty of practical stuff, including a handsome potting table ($625); a selection of fan-shaped wood trellises ($2.50 to $21); Schwarzwaldschmiede tools--a top-of-the-line import from Germany (pitchforks and shovels, $59); terra-cotta pots ($6 to $45); and an extensive collection of Chambers English planters in handcrafted black iron. In the Chambers line, Therriault sells both window boxes--called window hayracks--that range from $33 to $53, and hanging baskets ($12 to $16) plus coconut-grass inserts to fit both styles ($4 to $16). Coconut liners look like compressed moss but are a bit heavier and hold in moisture longer, he says.

Outside, a prominent signpost directs you toward annuals in one area of the garden and perennials in another. The selection is notable both for what it includes--rare annuals hard to find elsewhere and varieties not always seen at giant garden centers--and for what it doesn't: no azaleas, rhododendrons or other common shrubs. No junipers. And no roses, something Therriault feels somewhat sheepish about.

"I love roses, but most people just don't have the time it takes for them," he says, adding that their appeal is usually partly nostalgic. "People grow roses because they want to be their grandmothers. I think grandmothers are the only reason roses still exist. Only grandmothers have that kind of time."

Maybe that's something he'll pursue later this year, after he takes the big step of closing down at the end of July and not re-opening until March 2001.

"I'm going to play with my kids," he says with obvious delight, "and get back to gardening around here."

Where to find it: Alden Farms, 19215 Beallsville Rd. (Route 109), Beallsville. Hours: daily, except Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 301-972-7183.

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