Top 6 Garden Centres to Landscape your Okotoks Home
Annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs, vegetables and more. The busy gardening season is about to begin. Okotoks garden centres and nurseries have been abuzz with activity for some months now. Bedding plants are blooming, seed packets are flying off the shelves and landscaping is beginning in earnest.
Here are just a few of the garden centres you can visit to get your Okotoks garden ready for planting.
Beaver Dam Nursery
A long-time family-run business, Beaver Dam is open Monday to Friday from 8 am to 8 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 8 am to 6 pm. The banner on the website declares them as the Best Kept Secret in Okotoks. They have a full selection of annuals (petunias are in bloom), perennials, trees and shrubs with a lovely selection of garden accessories and ornaments. They’re on Range Road 290B just east of Highway 2A in Aldersyde. Operated by Dan Blaaberg and family.
Wild About Flowers
This small nursery offers a diverse selection of native flowers and grasses harvested from unusual areas of Alberta, such as ditches, crownlands and from property owners (with permission). Part of their mission is to help local gardeners create a low maintenance, sustainable landscape without the use of chemical intervention. Located closer to Turner Valley, you must shop by appointment during the growing season, May 1 to October 1. There are more than 100 varieties of native windflowers and prairie grasses. They’re off Highway 7 between Okotoks and Black Diamond. Call 403-933-3909 or text 403-650-1836 at least 24 hours in advance of when you want to visit.
Country Living & Garden Centre
This garden centre is located at the corner of Highway 7 and Southridge Drive and although Sundays are a prime gardening day, this location is not open on Sundays and holidays. It is open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5:30 pm and on Saturdays its very busy between 9 am and 5 pm. Tuesday is one of the better days to shop here as one Tuesday a month is “tax free” and customers are give a 5% discount on the first Tuesday of every month. Similar to customer appreciation days at several Okotoks grocery stores. Seeds, pots, tools, furniture and even classes are offered at this retailer.
Saskatoon Farm
Fruit trees are this speciality available through their catalogue which was released for the 2017 growing season on April 15. There is a small selection of one-year old seedlings for who have the time and patience for their fruit trees to mature. Larger trees can be ordered out of the catalogue and picked up at the farm. There’s also a café, gift shop, live entertainment and more in addition to the Garden Centre which is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm from now til the end of October. The Saskatoon Farm is 8 kilometres south of the Okotoks Highway 2A overpass, east at 338 Avenue for 3 km. There are lots of signs.
All Through the House
This eclectic shop is more an accessory store for your garden with a few tools and garden implements thrown in for good measure. There are antiques, barnwood, salvaged items from old farms, hardware and mineral paint. They also have some treasures available for rent if you’re having a special outdoor event them needs some rustic decorations. That includes props for weddings. This fascinating shop is located at 100 Stockton Avenue behind the theatres.
Spruce It Up Garden Centre
Located north of Okotoks, this full-service garden centre has everything including landscape design and an arborist service. In addition to bedding plants, trees, fertilizers and seeds they have furniture and accessories to enhance your outdoor living space. Spruce It Up also has an excellent selection of tropical indoor plants. They are located on the west side of Highway 2 at 777 – 210 Ave SE and are open daily from 9 to 6.