Lisa Lancia of East Haddam grew up on a farm in Middletown, Connecticut.

“My grandfather had 20 some acres,” she said and picked spent blooms off plants in one of two open greenhouses at Harvey Gardens/Brush Hill Farm on Randolph Road. “I grew up with my hands in the soil. My grandfather was amazing, he loved to grow things – fruits, flowers, vegetables – a from-the-earth background.”

The business was founded by George W. Harvey in 1908. In 2011 Carolyn and Calvin Harvey grow vegetables on 25 acres of their farm. In the family, Calvin is the oldest, then Jeff, and Glenn. The farm and greenhouses are located at the top of the hill, the farm stand is just down the hill, west on Randolph Road.

“Lisa is amazing, she does so much, she loves it. She's the boss of everything there,” said Carolyn Harvey, who with husband, Calvin, now can be found at the Harvey Garden farm stand, where they sell corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, and all sorts of fruits and fresh vegetables. Calvin even trims the corn so stalks won't rip the bags as people tote ears home.

Lisa is an “adopted” part of the Harvey farm family, she'll say with a grin. Lancia started out watering plants at Buds ‘N Blossoms (another branch of the family of businesses) and migrated to growing more and more at the Harvey farm.

And for the rest of July (or until they are sold out), a special sale is on at the two greenhouses still open. Look for the line of American flags and a white fence – anyone looking to add a few tomatoes and sweet or hot peppers plants can find them here while they last, along with a few herbs and some perennials (unless some lucky person grabs the butterfly bush and clematis vines I saw on a recent visit).

“There's been an uptick in people who are concerned in where their vegetables are grown,” said Lancia, who studied opera and planned a career on stage before being drawn back to her passion for earth and plants. “Some folks don't know a lot about growing their own, but we send them out with good advice and help as much as we can. There are also experienced growers and seasoned farmers who plant a few acres, they know we have the flats of plants – which are getting harder to find.”

Lisa can advise how to pinch back leggy plants, deadhead annuals, or send customers home with a tub of Jack's Classic, a water-soluble plant food with micro-nutrients beneficial to the soil – and no added salts that build up residue in your gardens.

Note: The Harvey Gardens farm stand is open seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Anyone who misses the greenhouses in 2011 can catch the Harveys and Lisa Lancia each spring as all three greenhouses open with the start of the growing season.