In 1943, Bill Mercier bought 32 acres of apple trees that Dr. C. G. Lloyd, a Blue Ridge pharmacist had planted in 1925. The apple varieties at that time were primarily Red Delicious and Winesap on 25 year old seedling trees. Patriarch Bill steadily enlarged the orchard and later in 1972 brought Tim into the business when he returned home from the Army. Now we have more than 200 acres in fruit, with approximately 45 different apple varieties. We have more acreage in agriculture, with additional apple varieties planted but not yet bearing fruit. “The North Georgia Mountains provide four basic ingredients needed for the successful cultivation of apple trees and apples,” Tim explains. “Those are warm days; cool nights, plenty of sunshine and plenty of moisture.” For that reason, an abundance of apples are grown annually in our orchard. We started growing blueberries as a second fruit, afterward our peach orchard was introduced in the late 70’s. We also raise blackberries, nectarines, plums, cherries, grapes and strawberries. In 2010 we are planning several U-Pick events in addition to our Apple U-Pick. We will start with strawberries then cherries and on to our other fruits. Mercier’s expansion of the retail store started in the early 1970’s with jelly, jams and preserves. We then added our bakery in 1987/88, making apple cider donuts. In 1990/91 we added our world famous fried apple pies. The retail store continues to grow, most recently by adding private vendors within the store which includes Mountain Blooms Flowers and Gifts, Wrapsody In Blue Home Décor, Adele’s Kitchen/Dining and Home Décor and Sugar Creek Market selling toys and John Deere items. You may visit Mercier Orchards on the web at www.mercier-orchards.com.