Springtime Garden Center owner Ann Orndorff calls upcoming retirement ‘bittersweet’

Her customers say they will be lost without her.  She says she will dearly miss her customers and vendors, but it’s time to go.

Ann Orndorff, the owner/operator of the Springtime Garden Center on Warren Avenue in Front Royal, says that after 26 years of daily work—sometimes through the night to tend to new plants under threat of frost—she is ready to slow down, travel, enjoy time with her family and perhaps sign up to foster kittens in need of care before being adopted.  Laughing, she said, “I told my son, Colby, that I might become a ‘crazy cat lady’!”

The nursery will close on Nov. 30, as owner Ann Orndorff prepares to retire after 26 years in business. Photo by Mike McCool, Royal Examiner.

Ann announced on her Facebook page Monday that it was “bittersweet and that she was filled with “a mix of sadness and excitement for retirement.” After running the nursery with her husband, Lamont, since 1996, Ann says it has been more difficult since he died three years ago.  Lamont retired from the Pepsi Cola Company, then began working with Ann to build the nursery that they bought from Lamont’s brother and sister-in-law, Ernie and Marguerite Orndorff.  She says they always planned to travel after they retired, and she’s sad that he isn’t here to share this next chapter of her life.

For many customers, Springtime Garden Center has been the place to go for all their gardening and seasonal decorating needs, as well as fun times with the family.  Linda Cook, a loyal customer for 16 years, said in an email, “They have planted over 50 trees and bushes in my yard and trimmed all my bushes and mulched.  This year I had them bring me pies and cakes and vegetables and fruit. I will be lost without them.”

Ann is equally fond of her customers and vendors, whom she says she will miss.  She said in a Tuesday interview, “The customers were a blessing!  They supported us from day one, and we couldn’t have made a go of it without them. I got to know and care for so many over the years.”

Some of her fondest memories are of the Amish families she met while attending produce auctions in the region. She continued, “I’ve watched their kids grow up over the years—I will definitely miss them!”

Miley the greeter photo: Miley, who lives at the nursery, greets clients who come to shop there.

It was on one of those Pennsylvania trips that Ann found Miley, one of the nursery’s two resident cats.  About five weeks old, the kitten jumped on the produce cart and insisted on staying with Ann. “All of the cats we’ve had over the years have found us” she relayed. “She’s our greeter, and the customers are very fond of her.”

For years, Ann has worked with the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging (SAAA), donating produce for the Meals on Wheels program and when there was a surplus, fresh vegetables for the meal-delivery clients.

After years of providing a “giving tree” for local seniors and veterans, Orndorff hopes a local business will take over annual project this year and beyond. Courtesy Photo.

Ann also created a “senior tree” at Christmastime, working with the SAAA to identify seniors in need.  She said her customers looked forward to participating in the annual project, and once the tree was on display, all the seniors were adopted.  A tree for veterans was also set up each year, and all collected presents were taken to the American Legion for distribution.

Ann hopes to see a local business take over the project once she retires.  Anyone interested in sponsoring the annual trees should contact her at the nursery at 815 Warren Avenue.

Though the nursery and adjacent house have been placed on the market, the business has not sold.  “It’s a great business, Ann said, but it is hard work.  You have to work until the work is done—you can’t work eight hours and be done.”

Following her husband Lamont’s death in 2019, Orndorff says her clients and staff rallied around her and the business continued to thrive.

After Lamont died, her family helped her run the business.  Son Colby did landscape work for clients and the staff “went above and beyond” to help.  “I was blessed.  Without the hard work of our staff, I would not have been able to keep the business going or increase the variety of stock we offered.  I was truly blessed.”

As the sale of nursery items continues until closing day, November 30, there are discounts:  25% off (cash and carry) on trees, shrubs, perennials, Amish Poly Furniture, and Massarelli Statuary until the inventory is sold.  After October 17, equipment, seasonal decorations and fixtures will be sold.

For the first time ever, Ann will not have Christmas trees, wreaths, roping, and poinsettia this Holiday season, though families can still come by and enjoy the Halloween decorations and annual scavenger hunt.

Reflecting on the last 26 years, Ann says there are so many things about running the nursery she’ll remember with fondness, including the customers, the vendors whom she came to know over the years and her dedicated staff.  What she won’t miss is the crazy period every April after the annual plants get delivered.  She recalled having to get up every hour or two if the temperature was near freezing, to keep the greenhouse warm enough to protect the plants.

Son Colby and daughter-in-law Michella, as well as daughter Amanda and husband Michael, live in the area, as do her two grandsons, Bryce and Christian.  Ann says she’ll settle down in the area and enjoy time with her family, as well as make plans for travel.

Springtime Garden Center is located at 815 Warren Avenue, across from Wendy’s Restaurant.  It is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and closed on Sunday.