Shopping at the Garden Centre

Colin Remillard is a co-owner of St. Leon Gardens in Winnipeg, a seasonal shop selling locally grown fruits, vegetables, seeds and plants. He talked to Dorothy and Shauna recently about the business and they traded tips about what he’s doing in his brand-new yard and what gardeners should look for when shopping for plants at the garden centre.

Colin was born into the business. He, his brother and his sister grew up with their parents running a small farming business not too far from Winnipeg, where they hired youth from the town of St. Leon to work for them in a sort of entrepreneur-in-training situation. They later moved to the city and opened the store, taking the name from the town. More recently, the kids have taken over, along with their cousin. The store no longer grows their own produce, but they do sell produce and nursery stock from Manitoba farmers.

St. Leon is famous for its tomatoes, which were previously grown by Colin’s family. (Owing to health issues, the store is selling tomatoes grown elsewhere this year.) Colin has noticed lately that a lot of customers are coming to shop at the garden centre for plugs for peppers, making it a second choice for shoppers. Men in particular are interested in growing the hottest peppers they can find. Women, on the other hand, are interested in growing flowers.

Less well versed in flowers, Colin put on the interviewer’s hat and asked questions of Dorothy and Shauna about companion planting with flowers and growing them in his own garden. (Interested listeners can look for an article in Volume 2 Issue 3 for a complete guide to companion planting with flowers.) He has problems with rabbits, a bane for many gardeners. Dorothy suggests daffodils and planting clover in the lawn to keep the bunnies busy.

To listen to Episode 1 about Seeds, click here.
To listen to Episode 2 about Starting Tomatoes, click here.
To listen to Episode 3 about flowering shrubs, click here.
To listen to Episode 4 about birds, click here.
To listen to Episode 5 about vegetable gardening, click here.
To listen to Episode 6 about what’s growing in the garden, click here.