CARIEVALE - Holly Bayliss was raised in Carievale. She remembers walking to school and passing the Carievale Greenhouse daily, as it was right by her house.
The greenhouse opened in 1967 and was owned and operated by Mike and Loverne Hall. It was open until 2013, when the Halls closed the doors.
Although Bayliss enjoyed helping her mom Wanda in the garden and watching her mom grow flowers, she decided to go to Saskatchewan Polytechnic in Saskatoon for her culinary arts degree. Once into the program, COVID-19 came. Bayliss could not attend school due to the restrictions and returned home.
She wanted something to do and needed to work. Wanda suggested purchasing the greenhouse that sat empty for several years.
She took her mom’s advice and is now into her fourth season as the owner and operator of the Carievale Greenhouse with Wanda at her side.
Bayliss said her first year was a learning experience. She ordered too early and seeded too soon, which created large plants that needed cutting back and caused a lot of extra work.
Many things have been learned over the past four years. All the vegetables and 50 per cent of the flowers start from seed. This is a very tedious process as some seeds are the size of pinheads and others are as light as dust.
They do not have the machine for seeding, which creates a low vacuum and pulls the seeds into little holes. They put each seed in carefully and manually by hand.
When the seedlings become a certain size, they need to be transplanted. This takes place in March and April with the help of about 20 volunteers.
The 30-foot by 120-foot greenhouse holds all the annuals, which last for one season.
Another smaller greenhouse has perennials and shrubs, which come back every year.
Wanda has a love for flowers and although they see a lot of varieties, certain colours can only be ordered as cuttings and need to be planted as soon as they arrive.
Two casual workers are on staff and come in to help with the watering. A greenhouse heats up quickly, especially in the afternoon, which also causes plants to dry out faster, so watering occurs frequently.
Holly Bayliss enjoys vegetables and loves to teach and encourage people to grow their own garden. She said planting vegetables is not that difficult, plus it is economical and food tastes so good when it is fresh from the garden.
They have an array of hanging baskets with a variety of colours, and a broad selection of planters and house plants.
To keep dogs, cats and unwanted critters out of the garden, there is a coleus that produces an odor that is not pleasant for animals to smell. It is not strong for humans unless the plant is held close to the nose.
Bayliss tries to bring in added items each season, including some that are unusual and unique.
They are open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., including the weekends and every holiday during their season, which continues until the end of June.
Bayliss feels the greenhouse was missed in the small community of 250 people and she hopes to welcome everyone to visit them.
She feels this was the right decision in her life and looks forward to learning new things each year with an ever-changing variety of plants.
