Abbotsford’s Van Belle Nursery still growing strong after 50 years

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Any company that can celebrate 50 years in operation has hit a great milestone, and when that company is still growing and expanding in new directions, well, that’s really something in today’s rapidly changing business environment.

Last week, Van Belle Nursery in Abbotsford not only marked 50 years in the nursery industry but also showcased their new expanded growing facilities. They now have 100 acres of state-of-the-art greenhouses, container fields, raised bench yards, with shipping bays to meet their current demand for product.

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Back in 1973, Bill and Grace Van Belle developed a wholesale nursery in the Abbotsford area and for many years provided retailers with a wide assortment of trees and shrubs. They were well known and much liked and respected in the industry. As with most nursery businesses, weather and the economy were both friends and foes, but through their hard work, dedication and innovation, they grew into a thriving operation.

About 30 years later, their son, David, joined the business, and after assessing their status, looked at new opportunities for growth and expansion.

Building on what his parents had started, he embraced their “Golden Rules”: “We believe in and commit to five core values: Best effort. Always positive. Respect people. Find a better way. And do it now. These unify us as a team and fuel our strive to deliver the best plants, best service and best shipping experience to our fine partners each and every day.”

He knew that to grow the business they needed a fresh approach, so his first undertaking was to expand and nurture a team that would help create a vision and plan to move in the best directions.

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I asked Dave about their mission statement and it was quite refreshing. He stressed Van Belle’s commitment to their people: “We’re on a mission to help team members achieve their career and personal dreams through our nursery. We also love growing healthy plants for our partners.”

As a team, they nurture a culture of growing people, encouraging creativity and being good leaders, and when they ramp up for the spring rush, 97 per cent of their seasonal workers return to them.

Dave was very focused, not only on people, but what the essence of their business was really all about. It wasn’t just about plants, but rather, how plants connect to people.

“We’re in the happiness business,” he said. “We sell joy and all the benefits that plants bring to people.”

He had zeroed in on the importance and relevancy of plants in today’s world.

The Van Belle team has introduced a plant brand called Bloomin’ Easy. It is well developed and aimed at today’s younger consumers who, as a gardening community, need the assurance that the many beautiful new plants they have chosen are easy to plant and grow.

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It’s become a well-known brand in North America, and it appears in all the major trade magazines and publications and online. Most plant retailers appreciate this branded type of marketing. It helps assure new homeowners and plant lovers that their purchases will perform well with relatively easy care and maintenance.

One of Van Belle’s most important practices is sourcing new product by continually travelling to Europe, especially Holland, to meet some of the world’s leading plant breeders to find unique new plants and to obtain the rights to exclusively sell those plants in both Canada and the U.S. In order to obtain these rights, they must assure the breeders of their ability to sell significant numbers across North America.

Van Belle told me that part of their vision was to grow their business by 15 per cent each year, and by doing so have reached a critical size and market share.

Some of the great plants they have introduced into the market are a wealth of unique macrophylla hydrangeas, such as h. Cherry-Go-Round, Grin & Tonic and the bicolour, Tilt-a-Swirl, as well as heat-loving paniculate hydrangea varieties like Candelabra, h. Flare, and a unique dwarf, Dragon Baby.

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Flowering shrubs like spiraeas, with new smaller varieties such as Pop Rocks Petite and s. Rainbow Fizz, are perfect for smaller gardens. Their compact, repeat blooming weigelas, such as Maroon Swoon and dark-leaved Electric Love are terrific new additions, but one of my favourites is a very hardy golden spreading evergreen honeysuckle, lonicera Thunderbolt, which is absolutely amazing.

They now sell their ever-increasing number of remarkable new plants in two ways.

As propagators, they are growing started liner plants they have branded as “Youngplants” and are selling them to growers across North America. Local growers can finish these plants quickly, in as little as one growing season, and provide their retail customers with unique additions to their gardens. This has proven a great distribution channel and millions of these new plants are sold each year.

A first in the industry, their Youngplants division also invented an environmentally friendly packaging system that means they ship with no plastic and use recyclable cardboard only. Van Belle also mentioned they have 41 licensed propagators who are legally able to take cuttings of these new plants and help supply more 200 nurseries in the U.S.

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In addition, they have expanded their own growing facilities to provide finished plants in their “Retail Ready” line, to retailer garden centres and large box stores. They have also partnered with Proven Winners’ ColorChoice and broadened their production to include annuals, perennials and flowering house plants, creating a very wide and diverse selection for consumers.

Van Belle’s is always looking for new generations of plants as well. There are many new plants being improved or developed and introduced each year, and many are widely available all across B.C. With so many diverse plants, it’s often hard for consumers to get the right information on their care, and Van Belle has recently introduced a plant care app to help gardeners.

A few years ago, I wrote an article on Van Belle’s because they had won the prestigious International Association of Horticultural Producers’ 2018 Award of “Grower of the Year,” which is no small feat, but they were also the first to win several categories in one year, taking home Gold for Youngplants and Silver for Finished Plants and Trees, which is a tremendous accomplishment.

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Bill and Grace Van Belle are still involved in the nursery by designing and taking care of their show gardens, and in assisting seasonal workers.

As they celebrate their golden 50th Anniversary for Van Belle Nursery, they have much to be proud of and as British Columbians, we should congratulate all of them on their achievements thus far, and thank them for their continued contributions to the green industry.

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