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By: Vanessa Moss | Posted: on July 26, 2008

	FRESH IDEAS Jeremy and Sophia Feenstra are living their dream of owning a greenhouse thanks to support from Sophia’s parents, Peter and Cathy van den Berg of Gorrie. The group recently bought Stonehaven Farm Greenhouses, renamed it Floristerra, and added landscape design to its list of available services.

At Elmira’s Stonehaven Farm Greenhouses, two dreams are coming true simultaneously.
The previous owners, Kelly and Brad Jackson, are leaving the business to pursue their dream of living out west and the new proprietors, Jeremy and Sophia Feenstra, are taking on a challenge they had always hoped for.
In the past two weeks of taking over the reins, the couple has changed the name to Floristerra and added landscaping services to the greenhouses’ current offerings of annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees and gifts.
While the 24-year-olds agreed they have a lot of learning and work ahead of them, they said they have the drive, support and innovation to be successful.
“You need energy for this business and being young is probably a good thing,” Jeremy said.
Their goal is to keep the quality products already available and continue to expand. Some of their ideas include offering garden sheds, gazebos, and lawn furniture, as well as any landscaping design and/or work customers ask for.
Jeremy said he was surprised that within days of putting up the new Floristerra sign, people were already inquiring about the landscaping division.
“The nice thing is that we’re right here: people can come in and it’s not like we’re a pickup truck and a trailer where you never hear of them again. It kind of builds customer confidence.”
Something else clients should appreciate is Jeremy’s 10 years of experience in the field: he started landscaping at age 14 and has been bulking up his résumé ever since.
The Owen Sound native was a foreman on the Village at Blue Mountain project when he was 18, has worked for Fletcher’s Landscaping in Listowel and this year has been working on jobs in Muskoka and elsewhere, including $100,000 worth of planting at one cottage.
He said being involved at Blue Mountain inspired him.
“When I first started there, it was just a field. Now, there’s a whole village.”
Sophia also worked at Fletcher’s and has a two-year landscape technician certificate from Niagara College.
Her parents, Cathy and Peter van den Berg of Gorrie, are providing the financial backing for this new venture, as well as helping out with the hands-on work when they can.
Their experience running a poultry farm for more than 25 years should come in handy in this busy business.
“Just take one step at a time,” Peter said of his advice to the couple.
While that tip was noted, Jeremy and Sophia might have trouble sticking to it since they are anxious to make the place their own.
Although some people wait their whole lives for opportunities like this, the Feenstras’ three-year wait was even too much, Jeremy said.
“It felt long, but that’s all relative right?” he said laughing.
After finding the property listed on the Landscape Ontario website earlier this year, the couple took a tour and was immediately convinced it was the right one.
“We love the area. We like how close it is to the city, but you’re still in the country. We love this property. It’s got a ton of potential and if we have the time and the energy, we’d like to keep adding things,” Jeremy said.
On the list of ideas is building a studio where people could see designs come to life, and incorporating a terrace near the greenhouses overlooking the property.
The latter would give customers somewhere to sit while they enjoy the space, a custom Peter has noticed is commonplace.
“They [clients] just like to stick around: that kind of a feel,” he said.
Jeremy noted that, like their landscaping designs, which incorporate natural, low-maintenance materials, they want the property to feel peaceful.
“We really wanted somewhere in the country that people can actually just relax, not like a high-paced, commercial, commercial, commercial [environment].”
With the annuals season now over, the new owners have been spending their days cleaning up the property, working on designs, watering, learning about different diseases and bugs, and making future plans. They want to keep all the current employees and maintain the same hours.
Although they like what Brad and Kelly have done with the stone house, again, they have their own ideas about possible upgrades.
But, with their first child on the way in October, major renovations might be tough for now, leading back to Peter’s advice of taking one step at a time.
“You can always dream,” Jeremy said with a smile.

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