Keon Garden Centre has served Moose Jaw for an impressive 45 years, and with the greenhouse now open for the season, owner Marcy Duffey is celebrating this milestone with a rotating weekly draw to extend her heartfelt appreciation.
The greenhouse officially opened on March 15 and already features over 500 varieties of perennials alongside seeds, soil, and landscaping materials to get a head start on this year’s growing season.
“We started planting those (perennials) back in March… so right now we have over three greenhouses full of prairie-hardy perennials that are doing just lovely,” she announced.
Keon Garden Centre grows its perennials on site, but to accommodate a wide selection of annuals, the greenhouse has partnered with Saskatchewan-based growers to make up for limited space. These plants are now starting to find their way over to Keon’s.
“We’ll get a little bit this week, but more importantly, we’ll start filling up the annual greenhouses and the vegetable plants next week (starting April 29),” Duffey said.
The trees and shrubs for Keon’s outdoor nursery will start arriving in the first week of May.
Despite the early availability of these plants, Duffey advises gardeners not to plant or store anything outside until overnight temperatures remain well above freezing.
“We recommend you don’t plant vegetables or annuals until May Long weekend,” she said. “That way, you can usually be assured that the frost is gone at night.”
For the eager gardeners among us, Duffey said now is a good time to prepare by adding topsoil and crushed rock, and these products have been “flying out the door” already. The sandy, loam, and compost soil mixture offered at Keon’s makes an ideal topsoil for vegetable gardens, and it’s currently the best-selling landscape product.
“The guys (in our landscaping yard) have actually been pretty busy with that because a lot of people like to prepare their gardens and their yards before it gets really warm,” she said.
To celebrate 45 years in the community, Keon’s is now holding a weekly draw with giveaways ranging from a free tree to free soil, and customers simply receive their draw ballot at the till.
Each weekly draw takes place near end of day on Sundays and the winner is announced on Facebook.
On the week of April 28, there will be a four-pack of perennial astilbes and six lucky gardeners will be eligible to win. On the week of May 5 there will be a small-scale greenhouse complete with soil, and to celebrate mom, there’s a concrete Mother Nature statue that Duffey described as being “just lovely” in time for Mother’s Day.
To celebrate the special woman in your life, Keon’s will once again hold a Mother’s Day event and young novice gardeners are invited to stop by and create a planted pot arrangement for mom on Sunday, May 12.
May Long weekend is always busy, Duffey noted, and the greenhouse will be open every single day to accommodate the weekend’s influx of gardeners. Later in June, Keon’s will partner with local non-profits to hold one or more barbecue fundraisers on location with details to follow.
“It’s (going to be) a busy season and we have 35 staff ready to rock and roll,” Duffey announced.
Starting the week of April 29, Keon’s will extend its hours from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Saturdays, and from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Sundays.
Keon Garden Centre is located at 1645 Stadacona Street West and can be reached at 306-693-6771. You can visit KeonGardenCentre.ca or follow ‘Keon Garden Centre’ on Facebook.
