Sebza Flowers And Gift

Business name:

Sebza Flowers And Gift

Address:

60 Doncaster Ave

City:

Thornhill

State:

Ontario

Zip Code:

L3T1L5

Phone number:

(416) 227-1600

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Express you love, friendship, thanks, support - or all of the above - with beautiful flowers & gifts!

Florists in Thornhill ON and Nearby Cities

Flowers and Gifts News

GREENFILE COLUMN: “Farmer-Florists” Fresh, Local Cut Flowers

I'm just happy to focus on what I enjoy doing – being creative and growing beautiful flowers." Located in Thornhill Ontario, Antonio Valente is a perfect example of how the farmer-florist trend is taking hold even in more urban environments. Valente was a substitute teacher with a passion for flowers when he started selling cut flowers from the beds he kept in his parent's backyard. Also marketing himself through Instagram, where he posts rich photography from his garden as well as how-to videos at @antonionvalenteflowers, he recently took over his parent's half-acre property and still can't grow enough to meet demand. "I'm competing with larger growers who are producing acres of flowers, so I grow varieties that a florist wouldn't typically find from a wholesaler, heirlooms such as dahlias, Gerrie Hoek and Pam Howden, and foxglove Sutton's apricot. This allows me to differentiate myself and compete with the big guys." Florist Rebecca De Oliveira, of Blush & Bloom Flower Studio, is buying more of her fresh cut flowers from these farmer-florists as the trend continues. De Oliveira's enthusiasm was apparent in speaking to us, "I buy a lot from the growing number of small batch growers, and it's amazing. Their product is far superior to anything we see imported. It's fantastic!" "Fresh", "local", "sustainable" and "unique" are common buzzwords that describe both the trend towards farmer's markets and farmer-florists. Local growers are bound by the same seasonality as the rest of us gardeners – in about a month Canadian gardener will be digging up dahlia tubers. Sweet peas can be sown in pots during autumn and overwintered in a greenhouse, and "hardy annuals" such as larkspur and love-in-a-mist can be sown this fall. Many local-grown flowers are available now at local farmers markets. The year-round value of seasonal growers is in the relationships that form between the producers and consumers in a world that has long been dominated by commodified supply chains and major auction houses. "You met my friend Melanie at Dahlia May- she's the coolest!" exclaimed De Oliveira when we called to talk about this story. Friendships that blossom in business over something as precious as locally grown flowers – isn't that what this business should be about? Mark Cullen is an expert gardener, author, broadcaster, tree advocate and Member of the Order of Canada. His son Ben is a fourth-generation urban gardener and graduate of University of Guelph and Dalhousie University in Halifax. Follow them at markcullen.com, @markcullengardening, on Facebook and bi-weekly on Global TV's National Morning Show.