Vernon garden business grows its Okanagan operations

Oct 27, 2022 | 6:00 AM

Nicholas and Jamee Moffat have been dreaming of finding just the right space in downtown Kelowna for the past few years, and this Friday (Oct. 28), that dream comes true with the opening of Urban Gardener by Nicholas Alexander.

The boutique plant store was incorporated by the Moffat’s in Vernon in 2015, as part of operations at Nicholas Alexander Home and Garden/Landscaping.

“It sort of stemmed from our Christmas display actually. We have had tremendous success over the past three years with our wonderland, when we convert the whole store into a big Christmas display,” Nick Moffat said. “We just thought, ‘oh wow this would be cool to do in an old brick building in downtown Kelowna.'”

Urban Gardener / Photo Submitted

It took some time to find a location, but patience paid off when a property at 364 Lawrence Avenue became available. The building had been vacant since 2019 when “The Garden of Eden” closed down. It was slated to be a brew pub, but those plans failed during COVID lockdowns.

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“We were sort of keeping our eyes open for the right one, and found it on Kijiji, and it was like, ‘oh ya that’s it,'” Moffat said.

Plans are to carry the usual garden supplies in season, augmented by house plants, pottery and home decor.

Photo Submitted

Moffat feels they have a winner with the trend toward gardening that kicked in at the start of the pandemic.

“We actually didn’t see much of a change [drop-off]. It was just like last year, I think, with the gardening and growing their own food, just working on their own houses, has been maintained.” Moffat added.

Nicholas Alexander’s garden sales hit a record for the Vernon store on HIghway 97 north with tomato, herbs and leafy green plants leading the charge.

“The beginners that got into it the first year, went, ‘well I can’t grow everything, so we are going to dial in what’s easy,”‘ Moffat explained. “Stuff like that was big this year.”

by Kevin Rothwell

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