Granny's Gardens Offer Awe-Inspiring Plants

Mount Vernon resident Donna Granahan’s gardening habit turned into a business more than 25 years ago.

While she was taking an extension course offered by Arlington County, she worked at a farmers market in exchange for instruction hours.  

“I love planting, and I would dig and divide my own plants,” she said. “I figured, why not dig and divide my plants and sell them at market?”

She started to sell her plants at the Arlington Farmers Market and later at the Mount Vernon Farmers Market, where she continues to sell potted plants and fresh cut flowers. Her mother, Lee, and her daughter both help with the business, called Granny’s Gardens because of Granahan’s childhood nickname, “Granny”.  

All of Granahan’s plants are grown in her one-acre garden located in Mount Vernon. Her favorite flower to grow in her is the lily flower, which she plants every two weeks to keep a steady supply going during the summer.

“They’re a very handy perennial,” she said. “It’s a long lasting cut flower.”

Granahan also grows cupelas and African impatiens, two very unique items not usually found at garden centers. She also focuses on growing dwarf varieties of plants for those living in apartments and townhouses that want to cultivate a small garden on their balconies.

“I strive to have more unique items,” said Granahan. “When you sell at a farmers market, you have a lot of competition.”

Granahan has cultivated friendships from the people she has met at farmers markets over the years.

“It’s the camaraderie you don’t get at a garden center per se,” she said.

Be sure to visit Granny’s Gardens at the Mount Vernon Farmers Market every Wednesday from 8 a.m. to noon.