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| 5630 Dunbar St. at 41st Ave. 604-684-4613 |
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Things to do in the Neighbourhood - Southlands Nursery |
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Please note: this is not the web site for Southlands Nursery. If you want to contact them, phone (604) 261-6411. If you do a Google search for Southlands Nursery, you will get dozens of results from horticultural specialist web sites writing about Southlands Nursery as the ultimate nursery in Vancouver. Even the San Francisco Chronicle did an article on visiting parks and gardens for Vancouver vacationers and listed Southlands Nursery as a must see. Located at 6550 Balaclava Street on the corner of 49th Ave, it is just a few blocks from All Nations and well worth a visit. |
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| Surrounded by stately mansions with impeccably manicured yards, Southlands Nursery fits right in.
When Thomas Hobbs bought the fifty year old nursery in 1991 it was in bad repair and in desperate need of upgrades. He and his partner Brent Beattie decided that they would give all of the present stock away in order to build an entirely new kind of nursery; a boutique nursery that would sell extraordinary plants and garden ornaments that could not usually be found for sale in the Vancouver area. |
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| Thomas Hobbs began growing seeds at the young age of five while living on Roslyn Road in Winnipeg, Manitoba. By the time he was ten and living in Regina he owned his first greenhouse and by the young age of fourteen he was breeding orchids in his spare time.
In 1975 when Thomas was twenty-one years old he convinced his mother to mortgage her house and lend him $60,000.00 so he could create a flower shop in a beautiful old bank building on West 41st Street in Vancouver. He soon became known as the most prestigious florist in Vancouver. Thomas Hobbs Florist provided flowers for Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana, Prime Minister Trudeau, Bill Clinton and many other well known individuals as well as thousands of weddings. |
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| In 1995, Thomas decided that he no longer wanted the stress of owning the flower shop, being up at 5:00 am to go to the flower auction by 6:00 am, the weeping brides and the demanding celebrities, so he decided to sell it to concentrate fully on his new love: the nursery.
They restored the Victorian-era greenhouses and imported ornamental terra-cotta pots and decorations from Tuscany and set up their displays with an artistic touch that came from years of flower arranging experience. |
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| In the Hobbsian plant world, Stipa tennuissima is a Tina Turner fright wig and 'Patty's Plum' poppy, once rescued from the garbage and certain oblivion, grows on to become the cover girl of a nursery catalogue. Aside from the orchids he grows and propagates, one of Hobbs' favourite plant families is the Echeverias. It's a plant "that doesn't need you at all," says Hobbs who uses pots full of different varieties to mix up a "textural salad" and "Echeveria pizzas". Where does he find them? In the aisles at Home Depot. ("They don't know what they have!" he exclaims, letting us in on the secret.) | ||
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| His pots are the jewels of his garden. To Hobbs, placing them amongst the plant borders is like creating a necklace of brilliant gemstones. Encouraging us all to use "wacky stuff" in our pots, he shows slides of California and Seattle potscapes filled with the exotic and the bizarre--combinations that none-the-less work with their surroundings. Hobbs also plays "pot tricks" with wacky containers. He uses a wall fountain as a planter and delights in "staging an incident" by creating a vignette with a birdless cage entwined with vines. Just as arresting, though, is a simple, unplanted pot. Filled only with water and placed amongst a lush, leafy border, the container provides what Hobbs calls "a Zen moment". | ||
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| Thomas enjoys to share his insights on gardening through his two books. His first, Shocking Beauty, became an international bestseller and explores how innovative garden design and freeing up the mind from the bonds of conventional garden design can result in gardens of singular allure.
Thomas' concept of "Zonal denial" is discussed in the book as the practice of trying to grow things that are not hardy in one's home climate. A practice he is guilty of as he constantly pushes the limits of gardening without fear, as he puts it, in his garden. |
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| Thomas' second book, The Jewel Box Garden, brings gardening to a new level by inspiring gardeners to tap into their creativity and invest their heart and soul in creating oases of beauty and intimate spaces.
However, it is in a greenhouse hidden behind the Nursery where Thomas continues to indulge his true passion; breeding orchids. For thirty-four years he has been breeding and growing them and with the acquisition of the greenhouse, he is now able to take orders for special varieties from people all over the world. |
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| His speciality is Cattleya orchids which he breeds in unusual colours and sells through The American Orchid Society monthly magazine Orchids and on the internet. | ||
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| The interior of the shop is no less spectacular. Not just exotic plants, the shop also has decorations for home and garden. | ||
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| Including a rare 19th century carved wooden Buddha. | ||
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| Roaming the nursery inside and out is a fabulous learning experience. All of the different plant groups are well marked with signs describing them in Thomas' special style. | ||
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| The greenhouse specializing in cacti and succulents also has a fountain with water lilies. And althouth it makes a wonderful display, everything is, of course for sale. | ||
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| The staff are friendly and nowledgeable and they even have a "plant search" service and will attempt to track down rare species for you, just bring in a leaf or flower and they find out what it is for you, no charge or obligation.
Thomas' private garden has been featured in many prominent magazines, including Horticulture, House Beautiful, Better Homes and Gardens and Garden Design and are featured in his book: Shocking Beauty. Thomas has a weekly TV show (on Global TV in BC) and currently gives popular lectures across North America on inspirational garden design. |
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| So the next time you are out to All Nations, plan to visit Southlands Nursery. Even if you are not looking for new plants, spend an hour just wandering around the magnificent grounds.
Southlands Nursery |
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| Other Things to do in the Neighbourhood Newsletters: | ||
Newsletter #147 Newsletter #148 Newsletter #149 Newsletter #150 Newsletter #151 Newsletter #152 Newsletter #153 Newsletter #166 Newsletter #169 Newsletter #173 Newsletter #174 Newsletter # 180 Newsletter #182 Newsletter #196 Newsletter #209 |
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Newsletter #151 coming soon |
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| All Nations Stamp & Coin
5630 Dunbar St. at 41st Ave. Phone: 604-684-4613 e-mail: collect@direct.ca |
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