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MEMBER PROFILE 



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rience in retail marketing and the 

 shop is their project. Again — very 

 sure of their taste |"if we wouldn't 

 want it in our own gardens, we don't 

 buy it"), they specialize in contain- 

 ers and garden ornaments. High-end 

 and out-of-the-ordinary, much of it 

 imported; stone and terra cotta 

 seem to dominate. 



Since Zoe's been working here, 

 marketing efforts have increased. A 

 logo's been chosen (from a book of 

 copyright-free art); official directional 

 signs are on the main roads and 

 "greenhouse" signs at several crucial 

 turns. French Farm now advertises in 

 seven local publications ("for an op- 

 eration of our size, this is a lot") and 

 plans to increase the number 



But the real marketing is done on 

 a customer-by-customer basis. "We 

 work hard to keep them through 

 education and personal contact — we 

 know many by name and many 



more by face — there's always a 

 friendly greeting." And customers — 

 no longer just local — are loyal. 

 "They return year after year — they 

 just like it here." 



What attracts them? The quiet, the 

 view, the lack of obvious technology, 

 the field of vegetables coming right 

 up to the lawn, and the range of ma- 

 terial that seems to be growing every- 

 where naturally; the sense of continu- 

 ity — the feeling that the farm has 

 been around awhile — these aspects 

 reflect current perceptions of what en- 

 tails "country" in New Hampshire. 

 People want this for themselves and 

 French's supplies both a template and 

 some of the material. 



And the peacocks — if the vista to- 

 ward Weare dominates the left, pea- 

 cocks penned in a weathered stor- 

 age shed dominate the right. Amaz- 

 ingly, peacocks have been a part of 

 the place for a long time — a pair 



were given to Durwood and Barbara 

 on their fifth wedding anniversary. 

 The birds mated and prospered and 

 currently there are nine. ("They're 

 simple to care for — they eat game 

 bird crumbles and water and, in 

 winter, live in the barn.") 



Perhaps the peacocks say some- 

 thing about the romantic side — the 

 conscious choice to live a "rural" 

 lifestyle, the emphasis on aesthet- 

 ics — of what's basically a pragmatic, 

 labor-intensive business. But a bal- 

 ance between these opposing as- 

 pects — "romantic" and "pragmatic" — 

 seems to have been found and the 

 result is neither sentimental nor 

 contrived. In fact, it's very refresh- 

 ing. (B.P.) 



French Farm Creenkouses & Garden 

 Shop is at 27 French Road [follow the 

 signs from Rtes. 202 & 9) in Henniker, 

 NH 03242. The phone number there is 

 603-428-3383. 



PRUNERS 



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ROUTE 116, P.O. BOX 540 



CONWAY, MA 01341 



413-369-4335 



For Friendly, Courteous, Efficient, Technical Service 

 CALL US AT 1-800-634-5557 FOR INFORMATION AND CATALOGS 



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AUGUST ^SEPTEMBER 1996 



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