Hole’s Greenhouses and Gardens: St. Albert’s go-to greenhouse for over half a century

hole’s at a Glance

Location: The Enjoy Centre, 101 Riel Drive

The Owners: Jim, Bill and Valerie Hole

Specialties: All things gardening, for beginners and experts alike

Interesting Fact: Hole’s draws crowds from all over, with St. Albert making up only about 40% of their customer base.

Whether you’ve lived in St. Albert your whole life or are a more recent arrival, you’ll probably have at least a passing familiarity with Hole’s Greenhouses & Gardens. Attracting first-time gardeners and seasoned veterans alike, Hole’s has long been a local landmark, serving the green thumbs of the city for -nearly sixty years. Despite its long reign as the top greenhouse in the region, Hole’s continues to value the importance of innovation and shows no signs of slowing down in the future.

Lois Hole and her husband Ted began the business on their family farm in 1959 with the simple goal of bringing their gardening knowledge and expertise to the community. Since then, the business has continuously grown and expanded, but current co–owner Jim Hole says that their core values haven’t changed. “People come to buy plants, but they also come for the knowledge and advice that we can provide. That’s a big part of it.”

Jim, his brother Bill, and his sister-in-law Valerie run the Enjoy Centre, the home of Hole’s Greenhouses & Gardens since 2011. The decision to move the business from its previous home on Bellerose Drive was, in part, a response to a change in consumer expectations. “People are looking for more experiential shopping these days,” says Jim, “and the Enjoy Centre seeks to provide that. We’ve got a lot of complementary businesses in here, as well as our own bistro. Here you can sit down, have a coffee and check out the plants at your own leisure. With the big box stores beginning to have their own take on gardening, we thought it was time to take our business to the next level.”

Part of that next-level business strategy is an emphasis on community engagement. Hole’s Greenhouses & Gardens has offered community gardening workshops in the past, but this year is expanding the program. This year’s workshops are free, frequent and have already been very well received by the public.

With the current state of the economy, Jim believes that people have an extra incentive to learn some basic gardening skills. “People look at the price of vegetables now, and they are realizing that it’s time to expand their gardening knowledge or to start getting into it for the first time. Because of this, we’re going to do more with our workshops this year. We’re going to offer more of them and hold them even later into the growing season than we have in past years.”

Jim has also seen a business boost in response to a cultural shift in attitudes towards vegetable gardening. “The younger generation is really embracing the idea of growing their own food in a way that some of the older generations didn’t. They’re discovering the advantages of gardening, as well as buying local. It keeps costs down, it has a better flavour, it’s more convenient and it has a better eco-footprint.” If you don’t garden already, it might be time to begin. Hole’s Greenhouses & Gardens can help you to gain the knowledge that you need to get started.

The planned expansions don’t end there, however. There are plans in the works to expand the Enjoy Centre’s role as an events space, as well as to expand the bistro’s capabilities. There will be a major push towards catering and in bringing more locally sourced ingredients to the table. Jim encourages everyone to stay tuned.

Consider that seed planted. t8n

Did You Know?

May 14th is Lois Hole Day in St. Albert. Expect some big announcements from the Enjoy Centre to celebrate the day.