Van Belle Nursery

GPN’s 40 under 40 – our dynamic duo is featured

Rebecca — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:30:18 +0000

We’re happy to share that the digital edition of GPN Magazine is out for May, with it their inaugural 40 under 40. Two of our leaders here at Van Belle are featured – and the only two Canadians in the bunch! Congratulations to our dynamic duo of Dave Van Belle and DeVonne Friesen for their [...]

Google+ in the Greenhouse

Rebecca — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 18:51:20 +0000

Social media is ever evolving – a fast moving target, to be sure – but it is a truly fun and unique way to interact with customers and discover trends. I recently explored how Pinterest is a great fit for the nursery business, but I also I did a quick email interview with Greenhouse Management [...]

Failing Forward

Curtis — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 23:41:01 +0000

Every year with great anticipation, spring comes around. We spend time strategizing and developing game plans for our production planning, ensuring we have accurate inventory. We create fantastic marketing strategies to draw in new customers, excite our current clientele, and aim to set ourselves up for a successful spring. Yet in this industry we know [...]

“What you do is ship” – Seth Godin

Rebecca — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 02:56:13 +0000

The title of this video caught my eye immediately – shipping? Why yes, that’s what drives our business – shipping plants, as soon and as often as possible. For a new spin on shipping, take 20 minutes and enjoy this engaging, insightful talk by Seth Godin on the creative process. There are water balloons, chickens [...]

Anticipating Spring through Social Media

Rebecca — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:45:25 +0000

Spring is just around the corner… or is it? We have another snowfall warning here in BC, which is a little strange considering yours truly (Rebecca) was out gardening for four hours on the weekend. The soil was loose and soft, the sun was warm – spring was imminent! Not so fast, missy. Mother Nature [...]

Nursery Management: Adventures in Lean

Rebecca — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:41:26 +0000

Van Belle Nursery has been on a bit of a journey over the past several years, and we’re happy to share that Nursery Management Magazine has run a great article all about our adventures in Lean Manufacturing. From the lighthearted cover shot of Dave to the pictures of people and plants in our nursery, we [...]

New Ball Buddleias

Rebecca — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:05:28 +0000

Click on any image for a larger view, then click right or left to view the next image. Download growing sheets: Buddleia Flutterby Peace – Growing Sheet Buddleia Flutterby Petite Blue Heaven – Growing Sheet If you’re searching for ideas on how to bring your customers great colour in a compact form that you can [...]

Business Fraser Valley

Rebecca — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:49:55 +0000

Thanks very much to the publication Business Fraser Valley (www.businessfv.ca) for their recent front page story on our President and CEO, Dave Van Belle, on his inclusion on the Business in Vancouver 40 under 40 list. We’re excited about the future here at Van Belle, and Dave is a big part of that! 2012 should [...]

Mad for Mid Am

Curtis — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:51:41 +0000

Here’s part two of our January road warrior stories, by Curtis. There was much anticipation into the MID AM Show. For the past few years the MANTS Show has drawn the major crowd that typically went to MID AM. However, as Boyd and I jumped on the plane to head to Chicago, we had [...]

MANTS: Road Warrior Stories

Curtis — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:00:42 +0000

Diego Martinez, Dave Van Belle, and I started our journey to Baltimore at 1:30am on Monday January 9th and although we typically get excited for the MANTS show, we were unaware as to how special this show was going to be. Thinking about the opportunity to have a full week of connection with our partners [...]