Temple natives use Lion of Judah Farm to bless community
By AMY ROGNLIE | Courtesy photos
“As far back as I can remember, I have had a love for things that grow,” said Johnny Jarosek, owner of Lion of Judah Farm in Temple.
Opening in 2022, Lion of Judah Farm has made personalized customer service the hallmark of its business. Johnny and his wife, Lisa, spend as much time as possible with every customer, answering as many questions as they can. In addition, the couple also keeps an ongoing list of plants for which customers are searching. While they have not been successful in obtaining every plant on that list, they have found many of them and have spent as long as a year searching for some of the plants on customers’ wish lists. In addition, the couple also regularly drives all over the state to search for unusual items that could potentially grow in Central Texas. They strive to provide their customers with beautiful flowers, vegetables, succulents, shrubs and trees that are not easy to find at the big-box stores, and they do their best to bring the customer these items at a price that is affordable.
Johnny’s long career as a kindergarten teacher allowed him to spend summers working on his vision for his yard. He and Lisa took great pride in the way their yard looked and enjoyed showing and sharing it with family, friends and their church community. After retiring, they decided to turn that love of gardening into a new career, which led them to open the nursery in March 2022.
Situated on 20 acres, the nursery has plenty of room to grow. The Jaroseks live on-site in a house with unique character — it first served as Bel-Falls Baptist Church. The yard is beautifully landscaped with the native and adaptive plants that Johnny specializes in, and customers are invited to stroll along the hand-laid path of repurposed concrete to view the plants in a lovely garden setting.
“I plant what I sell,” Johnny said. “People like to see what a plant will look like when it is mature because it can be difficult to picture what a small seedling in a pot will look like in your yard.”
“Our customers are continually telling us that one of the things that they enjoy most about coming to the nursery is that it just feels peaceful here. I attribute that to the fact that not only are we a family-owned business but also that we have dedicated this business and our lives to the Lord and try every day to use our talents and this place to bless others. As we continue to grow and expand, our No. 1 priority is that we never lose the family-owned nature of our nursery or sight of our purpose of giving to others,” he said. “If something doesn’t look as good as I’d like, I put it on a half-off table. Sometimes I even have a ‘free’ table. We like to bless folks who might not have enough money to buy a full-priced plant.”
The Jaroseks also see their nursery as a way to connect with the people in Central Texas.
“I was born and raised here, so Temple is my hometown. It is the place of my childhood memories and a great place to raise a family. Our nursery is more than merely a business: it is an opportunity to grow our circle of friends, contribute to our community, and be a happy place for people,” Johnny said.
Lion of Judah Farm
Address: 4696 Little Flock Road, Temple
Phone: 254-760-4207
Email: lionofjudahfarm@yahoo.com
Social: facebook.com/LionofJudahFarmTempleTX
