Creekside Growers is a refreshing spot and good flower ‘therapy’.
If you take a drive and just look around, you can find so many hidden gems right here in Norfolk County. Located on Conc. 11, Creekside Growers is a refreshing spot and good flower ‘therapy’. Specializing in Dahlias they offer so much more in their Flower Shack and in the talents of Hilary VanderHeide. Hilary and her husband Nick have built more than just a business on their farm…they have created an experience.
“I have a BA in History and had a construction company for a few years then changed to farming in 2011. We had a 6 acre flower farm in Hartford until 2017 when we decided to expand and moved to our present location.” adds Nick. For Hilary she has a BA in Child & Youth studies and a Bachelor of Education. “We built Creekside Growers from scratch. We were helped by some knowledge from Hilary’s parents who grow peonies in Niagara”.
Right now, Nick spends much of his time tending the Dahlias in the 55,000 square foot greenhouse, the 15 acres outdoors and the 3 acres of peonies. “We ship a lot of flowers…we’re one of the biggest dahlia growers in Canada. The cut flower industry is a very close community and between myself and another good friend who is also a commercial grower we supply a good percentage of the dahlias sold in Ontario. It’s a good relationship and we serve our different customers needs well.”
Hilary devotes her time to the retail sales through The Flower Shack which they established during the spring of 2020. It’s located on their property and is dedicated to on farm sales, floral work for corporate events, weddings, Christmas parties, every major holiday, urns, wreaths…her talents are limitless. “We open daily from Mother’s Day weekend and are open until the end of Thanksgiving weekend. We open again after Nov. 11th. and close again Dec. 24th”. Hilary adds “I get to breathe in January”. Hilary is also available year round for special events and requests and will create whatever you need even if The Flower Shack isn’t operating on its regular hours.
Creekside Growers employs 3 to 4 employees year-round and 10 on a seasonal basis. They start in the greenhouse in January and begin cutting mid April and produce cut flowers until mid November. Their children, aged 15,14,12 & 9, are also intricately involved in the business. They are home schooled by Hilary in all her “free time” and are learning a life lesson in business first hand.
“The floral industry is pretty amazing” adds Nick. “We pick in the morning, ship in the afternoon and truck that night…Mostly it’s a one day transit from our greenhouse to customers”. Their customers are located in Toronto, St. Catherine’s, Northeastern USA and Thunder Bay to PEI.
With event business growing they decided to give Hilary a new, bigger and more organized space to work in. They are currently working on her new Studio…the space will be 24’x50’ and will have the full nine yards with an area to meet and plan with clients, a space for storage and work, and a full size walk-in cooler. Weddings and events are becoming quite popular for Hilary and keep her very busy. Hilary’s partnerships with local venues have really helped streamline the local wedding experience for the customers.
Their hours are Monday thru Saturday 10 am to 4 pm and closed on Sundays. Labour Day weekend (Sunday included) they will be holding their 7th Open House when they will open the Dahlia field to visitors for the 2nd year in a row. ”We just started the u-pick and field experience last year and the turnout was great. We’re going to promote it more this year.
There’s lots of room for everybody out there. The past 4 years we did a ‘wall of flowers’ and it was a hit for picture opportunities so we will be doing it again this year” adds VanderHeide.
“We see new customers every day…some even come from such places as Toronto, Cambridge, Woodstock and Aylmer” adds Hilary. Business is steady but not overwhelming and they always have time to chat with their customers.
My motto in life, over the years, has become ‘One can never have too many flowers’ so visiting
Creekside Growers was a pleasant treat for me and good therapy for a bad day…even if you’re not having one. So be sure to take a drive and search them out at 692 Windham Road 11.
