Jim and ​Karen Wieder were 27 years old and married only 2 years when they bought their 35 acre farm in March 1983. It had always been Jim's dream to have a farm and specifically a tree nursery. They started Foliage Farm that same year but as a landscaping company until their trees were old enough to open and operate a garden center. They did just that, in the Spring of 1988, moving the business into a full-time retail garden center and continued to do that for the next 30 years until Jim's unexpected passing on December 1, 2017. 

     Jim always knew instinctively that he wanted to create a space, a beautiful peaceful space in nature, for people to gather. He planted trees and shrubs. Created habitats for birds. Left open spaces of grass. When asked why he planted something somewhere he would just shrug his shoulders and smile. Willow Oak Farmstead is part of Jim's legacy. A place where the seen and unseen can gather. 

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