A Charmed Life

www.southlandsnursery.com

The Southlands Nursery is located on Balaclava Street in an old and stately part of Vancouver called Kerrisdale. In 1991, when Thomas Hobbs bought the fifty year old nursery it was in bad repair and in desperate need of upgrades. He and his partner Brent Beattie decided that they would give all of the present stock away in order to build an entirely new kind of nursery; a boutique nursery that would sell extraordinary plants and garden ornaments that could not usually be found for sale in the Vancouver area.

The Nursery is the culmination of a lifetime of loving and growing plants. It is Thomas’ dream come true and from it he feeds gardens all over the world. However Thomas’ true love and magic occurs behind the nursery in an old greenhouse located at the back of the property where he grows his orchids. Working mainly with Cattleya orchids, which normally come in purples and whites, he has been successful in breeding these exotic plants in many different and unusual colours. They bloom in late October and early November and usually take six to seven years to grow for selling. Sold through The American Orchid Society magazine Orchids and on the internet, Thomas has developed a strong clientele base for his creations especially in the US, Brazil and Puerto Rico.

Thomas Hobbs began growing seeds at the young age of five while living on Roslyn Road in Winnipeg, Manitoba. By the time he was ten and living in Regina he owned his first greenhouse and by the young age of fourteen he was breeding orchids in his spare time. A remarkable feat considering that Thomas was the only person in his family who was passionate about gardening.

In 1975 when Thomas was twenty-one years old he convinced his mother to mortgage her house and lend him $60,000.00 so he could create a flower shop in a beautiful old bank building on West 41st Street in Vancouver. He lost money for eight years on the business until finally it started to turn a profit and soon became known as the most prestigious florist in Vancouver. Thomas Hobbs Florist provided flowers for Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana, Prime Minister Trudeau, Bill Clinton and many other well known individuals as well as thousands of weddings.

In 1995, Thomas decided that he no longer wanted the stress of owning the flower shop, being up at 5:00 am to go to the flower auction by 6:00 am, the weeping brides and the demanding celebrities, so he decided to sell it to concentrate fully on his new love: a nursery that he had acquired just fours years earlier.

Southlands Nursery was a slightly tired nursery located on one-and-a-half acres in the upper class Vancouver neighborhood of Kerrisdale. In 1991, Thomas and his partner Brent Beattie bought the nursery with the dream of turning it into a boutique nursery and that is what they have done. Specializing in unusual plants, it is now the trendiest nursery in Vancouver.

However, it is in a greenhouse hidden behind the Nursery where Thomas continues to indulge his true passion; breeding orchids. For thirty-four years he has been breeding and growing them and with the acquisition of the greenhouse, he is now able to take orders for special varieties from people all over the world. His specialty is Cattleya orchids which he breeds in unusual colours and sells through The American Orchid Society monthly magazine Orchids and on the internet.

Thomas enjoys to share his insights on gardening through his two books. His first, Shocking Beauty, became an international bestseller and explores how innovative garden design and freeing up the mind from the bonds of conventional garden design can result in gardens of singular allure. Thomas’ concept of “Zonal denial” is discussed in the book as the practice of trying to grow things that are not hardy in one’s home climate. A practice he is guilty of as he constantly pushes the limits of gardening without fear, as he puts it, in his garden.

Thomas’ second book, The Jewel Box Garden, brings gardening to a new level by inspiring gardeners to tap into their creativity and invest their heart and soul in creating oases of beauty and intimate spaces.

Thomas’ private garden has been featured in many prominent magazines, including Horticulture, House Beautiful, Better Homes and Gardens and Garden Design and are featured in his book: Shocking Beauty. Thomas has a weekly TV show (on Global TV in BC) and currently gives popular lectures across North America on inspirational garden design.

Date: 2004
Length: 30 minutes