Q: What inspired you to open Wildflower Mercantile? Did you always envision it including flowers?
A: I was growing flowers for a hobby, slowly adding more and more, and then my daughters did a few little flower stands, selling jars of flowers in our neighbourhood.
When I randomly saw that one of my favourite buildings in Courtenay was for sale, I decided to take a leap into very unfamiliar territory—opening a retail shop.
[Ed. note: The original Wildflower Mercantile opened in 2022 on Cliffe Avenue in Downtown Courtenay.]
Q: You’ve created such an intentional space. What do you hope people feel when they walk through your doors?
A: Joy. I love seeing the reactions from people coming in for the first time. Or when they look up and see the big dried floral installation for the first time and gasp. Makes the months and months I spent getting the new space together worth it!
Q: How did your passion for growing flowers begin, and how has it evolved alongside the shop?
A: It started in Edmonton. My neighbour Sue (may she rest in peace; she was such a kind human who loved gardening) taught me a lot. I remember one day, I said I wanted to have a big canoe filled with flowers—and she gave me her old canoe!
I guess you could say my canoe garden started it all.
Q: What’s the journey of a flower like from your greenhouse to a bouquet in someone’s hands?
A: It’s pretty darn quick. I harvest early in the morning when the flowers are plumpest and most hydrated, and then I go right to the shop with them. I try to process them as much as possible at home to remove thorns and leaves and little creatures, but more often than not a few little hitchhikers make it in and will give us a jump at the store.
Q: What kinds of flowers do you grow, and how do you decide what to plant each season?
A: I’ve been leaning into perennial focals—roses, peonies, hydrangeas—for a few reasons. 1) It’s less work each spring than starting all these tiny fragile seedlings, and 2) I look forward to seeing them come back each year. But I always make sure to grow my favourite annuals every year: dahlias, cosmos, feverfew, zinnias, yarrow, stock.
“I finished the concrete frame myself and laid every last one of the 916 floor bricks by hand! It was intense, but also one of the projects I’m most proud of.”
Q: Where do you grow your flowers?
A: My husband and I have a one-acre property near Seal Bay Park, and over the years I’ve slowly carved out more and more growing space. Right now, about a quarter of the acre is dedicated to flowers, a mix of structured row plots, raised beds, and our large greenhouse garden, which is part cut-flower production and part landscape beauty. We added the greenhouse in 2019.
I finished the concrete frame myself and laid every last one of the 916 floor bricks by hand! It was intense, but also one of the projects I’m most proud of.
Q: What about in the winter? Where do your flowers for bouquets come from then?
A: Last year we had dahlias blooming into November, which felt like such a gift! But once true winter sets in, I begin sourcing from other farms and greenhouses across BC. I try to keep the majority of what we bring in as local and seasonal as possible, even when my garden is fast asleep.
Q: What challenges have come with growing flowers at a small scale for retail? Any hard lessons learned?
A: I think patience—and accepting that Mother Nature has a mind of her own. That’s been one of the biggest lessons. I still lose just as many beautiful blooms as I harvest, and I’ve learned the hard way that growing flowers for retail isn’t about growing everything.
I also lean into our incredible network of local flower farmers to help round out our offerings. There’s so much beauty in collaboration—and in knowing you don’t have to do it all yourself.
In the beginning, I tried to do it all—all the focals, all the fillers, all the greens. It was chaos. I had to face the reality that flower farming is a full-time job on its own, and I was already juggling so much. I was burning out. Now, I’ve scaled back. I focus on growing our signature focal blooms and easy direct-sow fillers. It’s more sustainable for me, and it’s made the whole process more joyful.
I also lean into our incredible network of local flower farmers to help round out our offerings. There’s so much beauty in collaboration—and in knowing you don’t have to do it all yourself.
WILDFLOWERMERCANTILE.CA
26A – 215 Port Augusta St, Comox, Canada
