- Story by Tess Van Straaten Photography by Lia Crowe

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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A lack of retail experience and an absence of any extensive plant knowledge didn鈥檛 stop Robin Knox from buying a popular Duncan garden centre more than a decade ago.

鈥淚 was a stay-at-home mom and my son was getting ready to graduate and go off to school, and I thought, 鈥榳hat the heck am I going to do?鈥欌�� Robin explains.

鈥淚 was always very involved in school fundraising projects and everything I did seemed to make money and did well, so when a friend said, 鈥榳hy don鈥檛 you buy this business?鈥� I thought it was a great idea. And here I am 13 years later!鈥� laughs Robin.

She took over the Old Farm Garden Centre in 2006 and she鈥檚 been growing the business ever since.

鈥淲e鈥檙e known for our pots 鈥� people come from all around to look at our pots 鈥� but once they get inside, they see we have all this other beautiful stuff for the garden,鈥� the 70-year-old says. 鈥淚鈥檝e been told by the different reps that we have the largest selection on Vancouver Island, so we even get people from Vancouver coming back year after year.鈥�

But the Calgary transplant admits the learning curve has been a big one 鈥� both for running a store and becoming a gardening expert.

鈥淲hen I bought the business I thought about pots and all the beautiful accessories for the garden, but I never thought about the plants,鈥� she explains. 鈥淎ll of a sudden the plants started coming in and I thought, 鈥榦h geez, I don鈥檛 know about this one,鈥� so I started taking things home to plant so I would learn about them. Over the years, it鈥檚 been a huge learning curve.鈥�

Robin does all the buying for the store and likes to hand-pick a lot of the items. She tries to buy as much as she can from Vancouver Island and local artisans.

鈥淥ne really popular item we carry that carries us through the winter months is Anvil Island,鈥� Robin says. 鈥淭he First Nations pieces are designed by Noel Brown, a Coast Salish carver whose work is on display at the Smithsonian. Anvil Island makes them so we鈥檙e very fortunate to carry that line.鈥�

Diversifying the product line and attracting customers in on-peak months has helped the Old Farm Garden Centre mitigate its biggest challenge 鈥� the seasonal nature of the business.

鈥淭he seasonal factor is definitely the biggest challenge and weather also plays a big part in sales,鈥� Robin explains. 鈥淭his year, with the snow, we didn鈥檛 even open until February 18.鈥�

The other big challenge is big-box competition and an overabundance of pop-up garden centres with cheap prices.

鈥淧eople are constantly looking for deals and it鈥檚 pretty hard to compete with the Costcos of the world, so we have to be very service-oriented because you don鈥檛 get that at big-box stores,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 ask information about plants and what works in shade and what鈥檚 deer-proof and all those kinds of things. We tell people to bring in pictures of their garden and we can teach them what they need to know and help them choose plants and pottery.鈥�

Since lots of people have moved to the island from other provinces 鈥� as she did 22 years ago 鈥� Robin says, they鈥檙e not used to such a long growing season or how quickly things grow here.

鈥淢y yard is pretty throughout the year, whereas in Calgary, everything dies back and goes brown,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he first year we moved here, we gingerly trimmed back the rose bushes and then, whoosh, everything just goes crazy. So I鈥檝e learned to be more aggressive.鈥�

She鈥檚 also learned to be more aggressive when it comes to getting rid of old stock. Robin says her biggest mistake was buying too much when she first started, and her biggest business lesson has been to clear out what鈥檚 not selling.

鈥淚f it doesn鈥檛 move, put it on sale and get it out of there because it鈥檚 taking up space,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a little boutique garden centre and I can鈥檛 afford to have stuff sitting there if it鈥檚 not selling, so I鈥檝e learned to try and get your money back, sell it off, and put some new merchandise there.鈥�

That business lesson also translates into the garden. Robin鈥檚 best gardening advice?

鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid to move things,鈥� she advises. 鈥淚f they鈥檙e not working in one place, dig them up and move them somewhere else.鈥�

Now that she鈥檚 70, Robin is looking to sell the blossoming business so she has more time to travel and visit friends.

鈥淚鈥檇 like to retire this year and I鈥檓 hoping somebody who would like to buy it will come along. But I鈥檇 still like to be involved,鈥� she says.

She鈥檚 also quick to point out that while some plant knowledge would be advantageous, a potential buyer wouldn鈥檛 need to have it going in, given how knowledgeable her veteran staff, Lindy and Mel, are.

鈥淚n the early years I was afraid to work alone,鈥� she quips. 鈥淭hey taught me so much and are a huge part of our success. It鈥檚 such a wonderful environment to be in because you鈥檙e surrounded by beautiful things. It鈥檚 not like people are here to buy socks and underwear. They鈥檙e here to buy pretty things to make their homes nicer.鈥�

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