Nestled in Brentwood Bay, mere hours until V-Day, it’s bouquet after bouquet of a rose ballet.
“Times like Valentine’s Day when everybody wants roses all at once, we’re pretty busy,” said Kristen Bulk, with Eurosa Farms.
The family-run farm has been around 42 years, but not all of the four decades have been rosy.
“Through COVID and a few disasters over the last 42 years, we’re still here and we’re still growing roses,” said Bulk.
The pandemic-related social restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19 put a halt to many of life’s big celebrations.
“Everything was cancelled. Everything was cancelled,” said Bulk.
No one seemed to need roses.
But as the pandemic wore on, supply lines became stressed, and shipping prices skyrocketed.
“There are not as many planes are running, not as many trucks are running out of Miami, everything is taking longer,” said Bulk, who says most flowers are imported from down south.
As a result, many Vancouver Island storefronts were forced to charge more for a bouquet, or look for flowers, locally.
“We’re having customers phone form as far as Ontario saying ‘Oh I heard that you grow roses, could you send us some?’ But our challenge has been that we’re a pretty small operation compared to these large ones overseas,” said Bulk.
The sudden local demand means Eurosa Farms has never been busier. Its 4.3 acres of greenhouses harvest more than two million roses per year.
Not only is it the last standing year-round rose-grower in all of Canada, but it’s blossoming against the odds while making sure a little bit of love makes it into your vase.
Kori Sidaway
