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Our retail centre is open from 10am to 5pm from April 1 to July 31 (our prebooked classes still continue until 9pm), after which it is open by appointment from August to April, with the exception being Christmas when we are open weekends (Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays) for the 7 weeks prior to Christmas.
To make an appointment to visit us in the off-season (mid-July to March 31), contact us by email. Please note it is not necessary to make an appointment to visit during our Christmas hours. Just hop in your car and come on out.
As noted, children under 16 years of age and pets of any kind are not allowed on our property at any time. For a reminder of why, click here.
We are very excited and pleased with our retail centre, having personally designed this building to suit our retail sensibilities and needs. We have designed it with the hope that it will be a relaxing, personal, unique and memorable shopping experience, incorporating artistic and architectural details we love while maintaining function and user-friendliness.
To optimally display our succulents and cacti, we have joined 5 glass greenhouses from Denmark to our main aluminum sided retail building, and added a beautiful adjoined outdoor courtyard. We have tried to ensure that the retail centre fits aesthetically with the many other buildings and features we have added to our property over the years we have lived here.
We have always said that Solar Gardens is a work in progress, and if you stroll around our property you will see why we also consider it a labour of love.
On our acreage, we have added and constructed at least one new building or feature each year to create new possibilities and meet our growing needs and interests. The additions are many but over the years they include production greenhouses and an outdoor area to house plants before retail, a relaxing Japanese hops draped pagoda area, our summer kitchen with its hand built wood fired oven for pizza and breads, our deck and trellises near the pool area, our hen and chick-surrounded fountain and our ever-changing garden areas. All these buildings and features have been added and constructed ourselves, and we have enjoyed every minute from the planning, to the building, to completion.
Our Retail Centre is no exception.
All the buildings were personally built by Roger (Chris made him lunch!) and were designed to incorporate a variety of inspiring art and architectural pieces that have been collected over the years.
We look forward to sharing this building and its features with you.
To give you a bit of a taste of what you will experience when you visit:
Before entering the front doors, you will be greeted by a pair of Rams head cast urns from China towering 11 feet into the air, their bowls spilling over with a variety of succulents planted seasonally. (Be careful to step around some of Dylan’s and Cala’s many dog toys as well as the dog beds outside the building!)
Four Roman-style columns complete with terracotta capitals welcome you and set the relaxing tone as you walk through the antique Egyptian doors at the front of our retail centre. At the peak of the roof you will notice a pair of antique Victorian terra cotta finials from England.
Inside, the central retail building is warmly lit with hand-blown glass sconces from Germany, and they cast a soft and relaxing glow on the cherry hardwood floor.
A replicated tin tile ceiling 11 feet high reflects the soft lighting into the room and warms the interior, while handcrafted cabinets and bookcases made of various kiln-dried wood (stained over the years by the tobacco plants they were used to dry) house our various products, art and plants.
Check out our beautiful succulent arrangements available for purchase for that special anniversary, housewarming, birthday or hostess gift.
We have many new products arriving all the time, and this year plan to visit us during the Christmas season for great gift ideas and gift certificates.
At the back of our main building, you will see our coffee and tea selection and machines, and the entrance to our farthest greenhouse and its deck. Housing the more-than-charming coffee area, this area mirrors a Parisian rooftop garden in the late 19th century, complete with tables to sit and relax with your drink, surrounded by our authentic Parisian windows, and our wrought iron fencing reclaimed from an Egyptian estate. We know you will find a few minutes to enjoy this area.
The bulk of our individual plants are displayed outside in the adjoining courtyard. Choose from a large number of succulents in various sizes to put in your own container, garden or purchase a special container from us. Healthy, beautiful plants grown in our greenhouses abound.
Ever-changing and evolving, we have a lot more plans for the future, and products yet to be unpacked. Come and visit our retail centre and let us share this labour of love with you.
What we are looking forward to for the future.
At Solar Gardens, we are always looking for new ideas and ways to share our passions with our clients. This season, we have a few ideas in the works including:
- New for this year: Our retail centre will be open mid November for all weekends leading up to Christmas. Visit our retail centre for the holiday season 2010, a and shop for blooming spring bulbs for your Holiday tables, as well as all sorts of artisanal handmade one of a kind gifts and tasty gourmet treats.
- Our watergarden and waterplant department debuting Spring 2010
- Our charming "Potting Greenhouse"
- Fibre Art classes and products (needlepoint and rughooking) inspired by the beautiful grounds and succulents of Solar Gardens
- The Grand Opening of our glass conservatory
Stay posted for specifics and updates.
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