Nursery promotes health benefits from nature

May 27, 2020 · 0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons

We all need a little boost to our physical and mental health during these unusual times.
The benefits and sense of wellbeing we get from plants, gardening and nature are undeniable.
With that in mind, King’s Connon Nurseries is providing residents with a cornucopia of products and ideas to get you on the road to recovery.
Growers, suppliers to the landscape trades, and retailers to Home Gardeners, the century-old family business, originally from Waterdown, arrived in King recently.
According to Valerie Kristjanson, marketing and media coordinator for Connon Nurseries: “We felt that there was a need in the area that could be met with a facility such as ours. Our focus is first and foremost on quality plant material.”
“The King community feels a lot like home to us.” Kristjanson pointed out they’ve been farming over 250 acres of land in Waterdown for over a hundred years and “it feels that this community has a strong sense of its beginnings and its roots.”
Connon Nurseries offers a vast selection of varieties and sizes of all types of plant material: deciduous and evergreen trees, flowering and evergreen shrubs, perennials, ornamental grasses, annuals, tropical plants and houseplants. While plants are their main focus, “Our product selection complements our plants and is focused on landscape supply and garden products,” which include soils, mulches, fertilizers, seeds, tools, pots and containers.
Kristjanson said their expertise is solid – they’ve been growers, wholesalers and retailers of all things garden related for many years.
“We have the ability to understand the needs of our Trade Professionals and to provide them with the quality, service and expertise that they’ve come to know us for, while also having the knowledge required to help new and seasoned home gardeners making their plant choices and develop their love of gardening and plants,” Kristjanson said.
In working with both of these markets, staff provide a Know+Grow Lecture Series throughout the season to help educate and enhance the skills of both markets. The sales yards also serve as a great meeting place for Trade Professionals to share their ideas with their clients regarding their projects and proposed plant material.
As agricultural growers, their products were deemed essential early in the pandemic which means they put COVID-19 protocol in place fairly early on.
“We have that learned that the importance of plants, gardening and nature has never been more important than during this time. The physical and mental health benefits of our industry have always been studied and cited as beneficial, but an increase in public awareness and interest has emerged during this time. We continue to emphasize that we have always felt our industry is one that promotes growth, happiness and health.”
Spring is a busy time of year in the garden for many! First and foremost on people’s lists are vegetable and herb plants, fruit trees and fruiting bushes. They’ve been seeing an increase in the growing interest of garden to table and more awareness around the environmental benefits that gardening and planting contribute to. In addition, the demand for what is currently blooming in our communities cycles throughout the season.
“We often tell people who are looking for what will grow well in their locations to look at around at their neighbouring gardens and landscapes for inspiration and ideas. A great way to get outside too,” Kristjanson added.
They’re located at 1870 Davis Drive (Highway 9). For more, visit their website at https://connon.ca/