We didn’t come into this as experts. For years, we admired gardens from the sidelines—urban dwellers with a love of plants and not much space to grow. But after spending several years in the UK, our perspective on gardening changed completely.

There, gardens felt like personal expression. Bold. Layered. Lush. But more than that—they had emotion. Even the smallest spaces carried beauty, mood, and a kind of quiet magic.

When we returned to Ontario, the contrast was hard to ignore. Gardening here felt restrained. A handful of go-to plants. A two-week rush around Victoria Day. A season shaped more by store calendars than by the gardens themselves.

The difference wasn’t the climate. It was the culture.
And we knew it didn’t have to be that way.

In 2020, we moved to the farm and started planting. Since then, we’ve grown more than 10,000 perennials and tested hundreds of varieties to see what actually holds up in a lasting garden. That hands-on learning has shaped everything we offer—from how we grow to what we grow.

Our plants are raised in soil—not pots—and many begin in custom-made soil blocks. It’s a healthier way to grow, but difficult to sell—so we designed our own packaging to make it possible.

We’re not a nursery. We’re gardeners who grow what we’ve tested—and only what we believe in.

This off-season we created the Garden Playbook —a simple framework built from what we’ve learned by growing, observing, and experimenting over time. It’s not based on trends or theory—it’s shaped by experience.

To bring transparent to plant selection we created Plant Sets: Workhorses, Staples, and Divas—grouped by what they do best and how they contribute to the bigger picture.

Our season starts earlier and runs longer than most expect, because real gardens don’t follow retail calendars—they follow the rhythm of the plants.

From May through September, you can visit the farm. And now, we ship our Tiny Plants across Canada—ready to become part of something more than just a garden bed.

We believe that gardening is creative work.
Plants are the medium. Your garden is the art.

—Stephen and Shelley Hood & Family