Grower News

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” —Mother Teresa of Calcutta Locally grown freesia and ranunculus purchased at the ‘flower cart’ drive-thru market at Virgil Greenhouses make a cheerful arrangement for the dining room table. – Theresa Forte , Special to Torstar A rainbow of cut-flower statice under glass at Prins Grow in Jordan Station. Fabiola Prins encourages Niagara residents to join the flowers4heroes challenge by purchasing bouquets from local growers for front line workers during the COVID-19 crisis. – Prins Grow , Special to Torstar A sea of tri-colour potted hydrangeas, ready for the spring market, at Creekside Greenhouses. Hydrangeas and Easter lilies are available at its self-service flower station on Fairlane Road in Jordan Exact cash only. See its Facebook page for details. – Creekside Greenhouses , Special to Torstar This year, I’m celebrating April’s arrival with a bouquet of sunny ranunculus and butter yellow freesia — the luxurious bouquet fills the centre of our dining room table — the cheerful yellows and delicate fragrance fills the heart of our house with optimism. A lush bouquet, made up of 30 stems of locally grown flowers, would be a splurge under normal circumstances, but I was able to source them from a local grower for a fraction of their retail value. With the current retail market in a tailspin thanks to the COVID-19 crisis, local growers are offering their spring crop at rock bottom prices and sharing the beauty with local residents, before most of the crop ends up as compost. They say necessity is the mother of invention, and many local greenhouses are offering flowers for sale — practising social distancing with a safe drive-thru model. I spoke with several local growers to see how they are handling the crisis. I wanted to introduce you to several families behind this innovative movement — they are but the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Creekside Greenhouses, in Jordan Station specializes in seasonal potted plants (hydrangeas, Easter lilies), spring hanging baskets, patio planters and patio vegetables and employs 20 full-time […]

Source: www.stcatharinesstandard.ca