“I grew up on an acreage to an engineer father and florist mother. Each summer my parents would grow and harvest enough potatoes to feed an army, carrots, strawberries and raspberries, beets, beans and peas and much, much more.
My grandparents and other extended family would help in the gardening tasks. Some of my favourite childhood memories are sitting in the shade of the house as the sun went down shelling peas and “schnippling” beans with the family.
But the garden wasn’t for fruits and vegetables alone. With my mothers occupation as a florist we also grew countless varieties including sunflowers, dahlias, sweetpeas, tulips, lilies, lily of the valley and blue bells. My Oma and I would pick Lily of the Valley and Bluebell bouquets that filled the room with their sweet smell.
I wasn’t always a fan of gardening. In fact as I grew into my teenage years I would volunteer to clean the house or peel potatoes for supper – anything to avoid garden work. I was terrified of bees and you could often see me running and flailing my arms away from the raspberry patch.
I still don’t like bees.
After University I married the love of my life, Jeremy. We moved into our house in Sherwood Park and I had my first “city living” experience. Every car door I heard close I would go to the door assuming someone was at our house. I was scared to listen to music or the tv too loud in fear of bothering the neighbours. Jeremy grew up visiting his grandparents farm in Saskatchewan and had fond memories of ‘living off the land” and the dream of us moving to an acreage was born.
Two more joys of my life were added in the years that followed. Julianna, our daughter and Jasper, our son. Julianna is bright, determined, witty and kind-hearted. And Jasper is loving, gentle, smart, unpredictable and funny. The dream of moving to an acreage never left us and Julianna turning 10 hit us with a realization. If we didn’t take the plunge and move to an acreage NOW, then when?
We found our beautiful 3 acre forever-home acreage in Hillsdale in 2017. The day we took possession of the house was a hot July day. I walked to the backyard and gasped, “we have Delphinium!” We set to work, clearing the trees that had filled in the vegetable garden and taking stock of the perennials and shrubs.
In 2018 we had our first real gardening lesson. We decided to try many different vegetable varieties to see what worked and what didn’t. Some stuff worked. Some stuff didn’t. But we learned. And I became addicted to the feeling of planting, cultivating and harvesting something that would bring joy to my family and others. (My kids would argue swiss chard does not bring them joy)
We went from a pet-less family to a very pet-filled family. Oreo and Leon, our cats do a great job of keeping the place mouse-free (if only they could hunt bees). Daisy, our German Shepherd/Lab is working on learning to stay out of the garden. We have 9 Rhode Island Red Hens and 1 fancy Rooster named Justin. We’re not sure how many rabbits we have but it’s around a dozen. Originally we started with two “females”. We’ve learned a lot about rabbit physiology in the last year too.
For many years now we have owned and operated a successful flower shop, Tickled Floral. One of our mainstays is supporting local businesses and Jeremy and I decided to expand once again and establish Hillsdale Flower Farm. With the help of friends we constructed a greenhouse and Jeremy has been busily tearing up the yard to put in flower beds. I have been busily researching, ordering, graphing and planning out the exciting new flowers to grow.
Some stuff will work. Some stuff won’t. But we’ll learn.”