| A sea of Bromelliads in bloom at Valleyview Gardens |
I have a new love. Where have you been all my life, Valleyview Gardens? We at Toronto Gardens have been bemoaning the lack of a really good, full-service garden nursery in the east end of the city for years. Long ago we lost White Rose nurseries which wasn’t perfect, but it was convenient. We were sad when Reeves Nursery came, and went. We have much love for East of Eliza and the East End Garden Centre, which are both excellent, but small. But in the growing season, we normally make trips to the excellent Humber Nurseries and Fiesta Gardens in the west end for our special garden purchases.
I just found out about Valleyview’s existence from a Facebook acquaintance. A large, well recommended nursery in Toronto I didn’t know about??? (For shame) A Google search told me it’s located on Kennedy road north of Finch, so I took a trip out there one rainy, cold winter day and what a delight! Huge greenhouse rooms that go on forever, full of healthy tropical and exotic specimens. Massive tropical, vining, and succulent plants in all varieties, all well taken care of, many tree-size. Looking for a huge ficus benjamina for your office or living room? Valleyview is the place to go. And they also sell smaller pots of many of the same. I marvelled at a huge bench of large, robust looking Jade plants in six inch pots, for around twelve dollars each. I was amazed at the reasonable prices. (No, Valleyview is not paying me to say this!)
Family operated and owned since 1970, Valleyview encompasses close to five acres of working land, including 45,000 sq ft
of covered greenhouses and is among the biggest and most varied in the
GTA.
Another of their specialties are potted citrus trees, in a myriad varieties. All different sorts of oranges, lemons, grapefruit. Walking through the trees full of blossoms and fruit was a fragrant delight on that grey day.
This is their winter incarnation. In the growing season, they are a full-service nursery who can source just about anything you want, according to my Facebook contact.
I walked out of there with a blue-green echeveria, a dracena and some insecticidal soap. I wanted to buy more. I will be back.
4 comments
Glad you've discovered Valleyview. I've been going there for years. Recently bought a totem philodendron there which is an extremely handsome plant. Also picked up some beautiful amaryllis which I potted up for gifts at Xmas. It's a bit of a trek for us, but well worth the drive. The staff isn't overly helpful, but if you dig you can find people who do know their stuff.
I am so happy that you've found Valleyview. It is a gem in our city for sure. They have another location In Markham which they grow and store for the retail outlet. Many Gardeners have their supply shipped directly from the other location (not open to the public, generally). It is a beautiful spot any time of year. The area in behind (west of) the main Greenhouses is covered with 12-16 smaller greenhouses for staff to keep stock growing and have plenty on site for the Landscapers. Thanks for doing this Sarah…they are great people and run (in my opinion) the best Nurseries in and around Toronto. They are by far the largest (in sales) of any Nursery within driving distance of our city. They are the largest Tropical suppliers in Canada, most Nurseries buy from them. I'm happy that you enjoyed your visit, and we're kind enough to share a few kind words.
Shame on you 😉
I've been going there for, yikes, 25 years or more. Particularly for their tropicals, which are amongst the best specimens for the best value you'll find anywhere in the city. A lot of fun seasonal stuff as well…
Proud of you, Tony. It's mystifying to me how Sarah and I could have been unaware of Valleyview for so long – we actually lived in Markham when we were younger, a stone's throw away. But, anyway, we know now.