Meyers Farms opened its annual spring plant sale May 22 at the corner of Read Road and Lakeshore Road in Niagara-on-the-Lake, drawing heavy traffic as shoppers hunt for cheaper alternatives to big-box garden centres.
The annual sale, which began in the early 1980s, runs Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. until late June. Nora Hoffs, sales manager and member of the Meyers family, said parking along the Lakeshore Road corridor often gets backed up when the plant sale gets busy.
“This coming week we’re hoping it will be just as busy as it has been,” she said.
Customers have been coming for more than 30 years, with prices well below what Rona or Costco charge. Some are now arriving with children of their own, she said.
“We have great prices. It’s always been that way. We want to sell things at prices people can afford,” said Hoffs.
The sale stocks hanging baskets, geraniums, begonias, million bells and trays of seedlings ready for planting. Hoffs said Meyers have added new mixed planters and flower varieties each year to give returning customers something fresh to consider.
Demand has created pressure on the site’s parking capacity. The sale operates from a roadside location along a busy stretch of Lakeshore Road, and Hoffs said vehicle volume regularly exceeds the space available.
“Sometimes the parking just gets crazy. It gets super packed down the street and it’s just hard to manage when it gets super busy,” she said.
Elynn Hoffs, whose father ran the sale before her, said four generations of the Meyers family have now worked it, with her son and granddaughter, Nora, being the latest to take part.
Meyers Farms was established in 1955 by Dutch immigrants Jim and Clazina Meyers and has since grown into one of the region’s largest greenhouse and tender fruit operations.
“My dad did it, then I did it. My son has done it, and now his daughter is doing it,” said Elynn Hoffs.
The sale is also a seasonal employer for local students. Student workers have returned for several generations, and some former employees now send their own children to work for Meyers Farms.
“A lot of the summer work at the farm has been done by students, which is a real positive for the community as well,” said Elynn Hoffs.
The sale continues until late June at the corner of Read Road and Lakeshore Road.
