While I write this blog, you wouldn't know that it's December 22nd, at least not by the weather outside - currently 11 degrees Celsius in balmy St. Williams.  The weather this season has certainly been the lead story.  We were blessed with a very favorable spring (with the exception of taking it on the chin a little bit when hit with a hard frost in late May) that aside, we were provided with moderate temperatures that kept the trees dormant for a reasonable period of time allowing us to harvest without the usual panic.  The summer provided for very good growing conditions with warm days and adequate rain.  Finally, we benefitted from a long mild fall that allowed us to continue to dig into December and prepare land allowing us to set the table for next spring’s planting.

The closing out of the calendar year gives pause for us to thank all our customers, suppliers and staff for making 2015 a successful year for Environs.  The preceding 12 months gave rise to many changes within our organization, all of which have impacted the company in a positive manner and have positioned us well for the future. 

We expect that the 12 months ahead will be equally exciting as we continue to grow and invest in systems and products that benefit our customers.  For those of you planning on attending the Landscape Ontario Congress January 12th to 14th inclusive, please take the time to visit us at booth #2528 to find out more of what we have in store!

Have you ever wondered what that tree on your boulevard is actually worth?

Last month TD released a report by Craig Alexander, SVP & Chief Economist and Connor McDonald, Economist that helps to quantify the economic benefits of trees and while the report dealt specifically with the City of Toronto I think it is thought provoking regardless of where you live.  Hopefully this will create dialogue within communities and stimulate discussion about why municipalities need to continue to invest in their urban forests.  Information such as this is also valuable because it provides politicians and administrators with ammunition when faced with budget restraints or decisions relating to items competing for financial resources - well done TD!

So plant a tree today - it's probably a good investment!

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In an effort to meet customer demand, Environs has installed a holding yard and now has the ability to ship mid-season in order to meet your needs.  Our drip irrigation ensures the plant material remains in the best possible condition until you're ready for it.  See our Above Groung Spring Dug Availability List for available items!

Jaclyn is the newest member to join the Environs team.  Her education includes a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and an Accounting Certificate.  Previous administrative experience in the construction industry, with a focus on emergency response and restoration, allows her to understand how important both customer service and quality assurance is to a business.  Growing up and still living in the area, Jaclyn has a great appreciation for the hard work that goes into farming and will be a welcome member to the Environs Team.

Landscape Ontario Congress gets into full swing January 7th through the 9th at the Toronto Congress Centre. ( http://locongress.com/ ).  Environs is once again excited about participating once again in the trade show portion of the Congress.

This years trade show presents us with an ideal opportunity to acquaint ourselves with our customers and others in our industry, which we are all very much looking forward to.

Drop by booth 1528 to meet us and learn more about our diverse product line, our commitment to service and innovative production methods all of which will help you increase your bottom line!

With the holiday season upon us, it is the perfect opportunity to thank our business partners; customers and suppliers alike for contributing to our success over the past year.  We’d also like to take this opportunity to wish all of our business partners a safe and happy holiday season.

All the best!

From everyone at Environs Wholesale Nursery

A week and a half ago myself and several of my colleagues had the opportunity to attend a day long event dedicated to sustainable nursery practices put on by the International Plant Propagator’s Society (www.ipps.org). 

The day included Morning seminars that highlighted recent research in biological control methods; soil microbial activity for containers and field operations, as well as existing nursery IPM programs that have evolved over the years.  We also had the opportunity to visit three farms that were actively practicing sustainable farming methods, including a pot in pot tree operation; budding demonstration; compost operation with equipment demo; and pot container trials as well as irrigation water pH control plot.

The day proved to be both informative and thought provoking.  While much of the material written about sustainable agriculture deals with food production, it would appear that many of these concepts are able to be applied in the nursery trade.

For some industries, sustainability is largely a public relations issue, but for agriculture it's becoming a strategic issue and one that is increasingly going to affect financial performance.

Tuesday March 26^th marked the first day of digging trees here at Environs.  The weeks ahead promise to be very busy for all the staff as we ramp up operations to fulfill our customers requirements.  At this time we’d like to thank our customers for their support and patronage and our staff for their commitment and long days!

Tim Holmes & Carey Grierson

I am pleased to announce the addition of Frank Birnstiel to the Environs Team.  Frank has been hired into the newly created position of Field Operations Manager - Grower.  We are thrilled to have Frank as a member of the Environs Team and look forward to his valuable contributions.  The following is a brief bio about Frank and what he brings to Environs.

Frank has been a farmer for 50 years.  Crops such as fruit, vegetables, livestock, custom work and for the past 23 years, nursery plants.  His hands on experience and proficiency in propagation, plant fertility and soil requirements, IPM, Pruning/Shaping of plants etc all lead up to the level of quality plants that Environs is renowned for.  Frank takes pride in his work.  A true farmer with knowledge gathered over time plus the thirst to continue to learn new varieties, techniques etc.  make him a very valuable member of the Environs Wholesale Nursery team. 

As a Canadian, it is my inherent right to complain or at least talk about the weather.  I suppose if you lived in a climate where it’s 25 degrees and sunny everyday, you wouldn’t have the luxury of being able to complain about the weather or speculate on what we’re in store for.

The freezing cold temperatures this past week have me wondering how much more winter we have to endure before we get a taste of spring and the reality is, its anyone’s guess.  Where we’re located on the shores of Lake Erie, we generally get that taste fairly early in relative terms.  We were in the fields digging trees the week of March 5th last year – a very early start!

I can’t imagine, given the way the winter’s been thus far, that an early spring isn’t a very real possibility once again this year.  The Farmer’s Almanac suggests the following for Southern Ontario this year:

“FEB. 2013: Temp. –11°C (3°C below avg.); precip. 15mm (30mm below avg.). 1–6 Snow showers, very cold. 7–15 Sunny, mild, then snow showers, very cold. 16–20 Sunny, cold. 21–23 Snowy periods, mild. 24–28 Snow showers; mild east, cold west.

MAR. 2013: Temp. –1.5°C (1.5°C above avg.); precip. 70mm (20mm above avg.). 1–2 Sunny, mild. 3–5 Rain and snow, then sunny, cold. 6–7 Snowstorm east, sunny west; cold. 8–13 Rain, then sunny east; snow, then rain west; mild. 14–19 Rain to snow, then sunny, cold. 20–23 Sunny east, rainy periods west; warm. 24–27 Showers mild. 28–31 Rain east, snow west; turning cold.

APR. 2013: Temp. 5.5°C (0.5°C above avg.); precip. 40mm (50mm below avg. east, 30mm above west). 1–7 Sunny east, rain and snow showers west; mild. 8–13 Sunny east; rain and snow, then sunny west; mild. 14–17 Showers, mild. 18–22 Rain to snow, then sunny, cool. 23–30 Showers east, rain and snow showers west.

MAY 2013: Temp. 11.5°C (1°C below avg.); precip. 95mm (30mm above avg.). 1–5 A few showers, cool. 6–14 Scattered t-storms, cool. 15– 20 Sunny, cool. 21–27 Showers, cool. 28–31 Sunny, warm.”
* Source 2013 Old Farmers Almanac

Armed with this information, you can speculate too!  Or at least it'll give you something to talk about around the dinner table.