Kelowna Garden Centre Celebrates: The Greenery Turns 30

Three generations of ‘green thumbs’ work to bring fabulous colour to Okanagan gardens

Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, March 31, 2011.  The Greenery is proud to celebrate their 30th year in business!  Their passion for gardening and the commitment to the community have helped this Kelowna gardening centre reach this milestone. It only seems fitting that we take a look back to see how they got here.

In 1973, Tell and Karin Segler decided to dig in, to get their hands dirty, and to develop their green thumbs in Summerland, BC.  Vegetables were the specialty in those early days.  When expansion was impossible, they moved to Winfield in 1975 and posted a sign by the road “L.E. Cucumbers” and grew long English cucumbers and tomatoes for the Winfield and Kelowna area. The operation in those days was called T.K. Greenhouses.  They gradually started to grow more and more bedding plants and hanging baskets.  To serve their Kelowna customers even better The Greenery was founded on Rutland Road and McCurdy in 1981. The Rutland location became their main garden centre and home for the next 15 years.  Avid gardeners flocked to the garden centre, filling their baskets and trolleys with plants, flowers, while getting great “insider” tips from the staff.  Year after year, familiar faces full of anticipation and “spring fever” would walk through the doors in early spring, ready for the coming gardening season. And every year, more people would discover The Greenery as they searched for new and unusual items to garden with.

Again, when expansion was impossible, 1994 became the year of the big move – The Greenery was packed up and moved to the current Dilworth location. With the move came the addition of new flowers and plants perfect for Kelowna gardens. The larger space welcomed even more Okanagan gardeners who enjoyed the variety of hanging baskets and plant material.  As the nursery grew, so did the word on the street – for flowers and plants, a visit to The Greenery was required.  This Kelowna nursery became a “destination” gardening centre, offering everything from 1000’s of hanging baskets, wallbags, planters to vegetables, herbs, and many annuals and perennials. One could (or should) spend all day walking the aisles!  Today many people seek out The Greenery from afar - customers from as far away as Calgary and Vancouver make the annual trip to load up their vehicles with garden plants.

The Greenery is a true family affair, even more now that the 3rd generation of little hands are getting soil under their finger nails.  In the words of the owners, “It’s been a lot of hard work with many challenges, but throughout the years we’ve really enjoyed seeing familiar faces in our greenhouses, both workers and customers.  Thank you Kelowna for your support, and we’ll see you again in the years to come!”

About The Greenery:

The Greenery is a family owned and operated business that is open to the public from March to June each year.  For 30 years they have grown one of the largest selections of garden plants in the Okanagan. In over 2.5 acres of greenhouses they grow crops all year in preparation for the next season.  With a small full time staff, and a large team during the spring rush, they offer hardened off plants that are well suited for Okanagan Valley conditions.