For over nine years, Simon and Malissa Levitsky have been growing flowers together. They started while living in the Little Italy neighborhood in Montreal and renting land in Laval. In 2019, the two moved to Hemmingford and have been living and working on rented land there ever since. The two, along with their baby son and four employees, run the Homefield Floral Farm and grow over 50 varieties of cut flowers.
They sell these as wholesale products to florists, grocery stores, and restaurants. They also sell to the public from the Laurier and Atwater Market and have DIY buckets for events like weddings.
Growing flowers locally allowed Homefield Floral Farm to create unusual varieties. They often have clients say that they have never seen flowers like theirs before. "We are able to grow varieties that aren't available from the big, imported suppliers, as they don't ship well, therefore, they are sought after by florists and are unique to folks at the market," Levitsky says. She also explains that they can develop varieties that work well for the spring, summer, and fall seasons.
For Levitsky, buying flowers that are grown locally is more important than many people think. "Nowadays, with gas and transport costs, not to mention a 'destabilized' U.S.A., these systems are unreliable at best, if not unsustainable," she says. Most flowers that are sold in Quebec are from Europe and South America, and they travel thousands of kilometres before ending up on shelves here.
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