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Local gardeners find plenty to plant at C.G. Bloomers

By Meg Olson

Connie George and Debra Baker of Bloomers are scrambling to keep up with the needs of local gardeners in their still growing Benson Road location.

“We need a 48-hour day and it should be October of last year,” George laughed. Greenhouses and a small store have popped up in the middle of the lower field of Baker’s Benson Road farm, but there’s more to come. “We still need to build our barn, the petting zoo, gift shop, everything,” George said. “There won’t be a grand opening this year, just a soft one, then when we have a grand opening next year we’ll be really grand.”

The nursery fell behind on seeding this year but they’ve managed to use their network of Canadian and U.S. suppliers to bring in everything they need at prices that compete with nurseries across the border and in Whatcom County. “We go around and check prices,” Baker said. “We don’t want to give the impression we’ve got a monopoly here. We want to stay fair.”

In fact, the nursery does have somewhat of an edge on the market, since U.S. Customs is this year enforcing a provision that all plants coming from Canada need a phytosanitary certificate from a government inspector. Sunnyside Nursery in Tsawwassen will obtain the certificate and deliver to Point Roberts on orders over $150.

As they grow their stock, George said she will special order anything a customer needs and, in most cases have it for them the following week. There is no minimum order and no charge for special orders.

Top sellers so far this year have been food plants. “We brought in 126 fruit trees and they’ve been flying out of here,” Baker said. “We now have veggies in and they’re going pretty fast.” Soil, manure, bark mulch, perlite and vermiculite are also for sale, the bags stacked along the nursery drive. Hanging baskets are now being put together in the Bloomers greenhouses and should be ready for Mother’s Day.

Beyond plants, the nursery has brought together a collection of local artists who specialize in art for the outdoors. A patch of huge surreal sunflowers by local ironworker Kelly Kiniski have grown beside the store, a forest of bentwood furniture by Ken and Colleen O’Sullivan covers the porch, and next to it are wooden wishing wells built by Mark Richards. “There are a lot of artistic people who have brought us art for consignment,” George said, including seashell mirrors and plant guardians inside the store.

C.G. Bloomers is now open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information or for special orders call 945-1359.

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