Our Story
For three generations, the Darnell family has grown plants and farmed produce in Orange, Virginia. They started out selling their farm fresh produce and plants from their pickup truck. With each generation, the business has grown, and now they have a retail store, operate several greenhouses, and manage two farms located just a few miles down the road.
Quality First
Quality is at the heart of everything we do. We grow as much as we can right here at Darnell's Garden Patch, and when additional produce is needed, we proudly partner with trusted local farms to bring you the freshest seasonal fruits and vegetables available. From healthy plants to farm-fresh foods and thoughtfully selected country store products, we carefully choose every item with quality, freshness, and value in mind.
Expert Care
Every plant we grow receives hands-on attention from seed to sale. We hand-seed our vegetables, herbs, and many of our bedding plants throughout the season, carefully nurturing them every step of the way. Our commitment doesn't end when you leave the garden center—we're always happy to share expert advice and practical tips to help your plants thrive at home. .
Community
Darnell's mission has been to inspire and enhance the community by providing the highest quality and widest variety of plants, produce, and specialty foods. We proudly support local organizations, including the local food pantry, Orange Downtown Alliance, and the Boys & Girls Club, while partnering with area farmers, artisans, and makers to showcase the best our region has to offer.
Every visit to Darnell's Garden Patch helps strengthen our local community and supports the people who make it special.
Discover The Darnell's
Jim Darnell
Jim Darnell founded Darnell's Produce in 1978, selling fresh fruits and vegetables from a pickup truck in a well-known parking lot in the Town of Orange. A Virginia Tech graduate with a degree in Biology, Jim combined his scientific knowledge with a lifelong appreciation for agriculture—a passion first nurtured by his father, Bob, who had been growing vegetables for many years.
What began as a simple suggestion to try selling produce quickly grew into a lifelong calling. Over the decades, Jim's dedication, hard work, and entrepreneurial spirit transformed a small roadside produce stand into the thriving garden center, farm market, and country store our community knows today.
From greenhouses filled with annuals and perennials to acres of fresh produce and locally made goods, every step of that growth has been rooted in Jim's love of farming and serving his community.
If you've visited Darnell's Garden Patch, you've probably noticed our famous "Jim Is..." sign. It's a daily tradition that lets everyone know where Jim is and what he's up to—whether he's seeding, planting, harvesting, growing, or out in the fields. It's become a fun way for customers to keep up with Jim and a reminder that he's still as hands-on today as he was when he first started!
Zach Darnell
Zach Darnell has been a full-time part of Darnell's Garden Patch since 2010. Although he spent time helping his father around the farm growing up, it wasn't until a visit home from college in 2008 that he realized agriculture and the family business were where he was meant to be.
After earning his Business degree from Methodist University in 2010, Zach returned home with a vision to help grow and expand Darnell's Garden Patch while honoring the values and traditions his family had built. Since then, he has played an integral role in transforming the business into the garden center, farm market, and country store it is today.
Zach enjoys tackling new projects, planning for the future, and finding ways to serve the community better while preserving the family legacy. Whether he's working in the fields, managing day-to-day operations, or developing new ideas, his passion for agriculture and commitment to quality are evident in everything he does. He especially enjoys connecting with customers and providing fresh, locally grown products that families can enjoy around their own tables.
In 2025, Zach and his wife welcomed their son, Reeves Darnell, into the family—marking the next generation of Darnell farmers and continuing a tradition rooted in Orange for nearly five decades.