This springtime in Ottawa has been anything other than ordinary for most people. Many of us are spending more time at home, away from friends, family, and social events. While for some, this has provided opportunities to complete projects around the house, declutter, organize Tupperware, and learn to fold fitted sheets, others have been eagerly waiting to get outside and enjoy sunlight, fresh air, and get their hands dirty and satisfy the need for normalcy with spring gardening while safely inside their 6-foot bubble of social distance. Aside from the aesthetic reasons, the benefits of gardening are in abundance, and are an excellent way to relieve stress and get exercise, which is extremely important, all things COVID-19 considered. Thankfully, garden centres and nurseries in Ottawa were given the go head to open their doors this month, allowing for customers to shop, arrange for curbside pick-up, or to take advantage of delivery services available. 

 

Here are a few local nurseries and garden centres in the Ottawa area to check out, to ensure your gardens look great, and you get the vitamin D and stress relief you may be looking for at this time. 

 

Peter Knippel Nursery

This popular local, family-run garden centre is located in Gloucester and is open every day from 10 am to 5 pm for in-house shopping and curbside pickup. They sell top-quality plant material, fruit trees, annuals, bushes and shrubs, modern decor, and much more to help you enhance your outdoor space with beautiful and easy solutions. 

 

As their doors are now open to the public, the Peter Knippel Nursery is respecting social distancing measures by allowing a maximum of 30 people in at a time, while encouraging their customers to follow the visual cues and signage to maintain the 6-foot distance between them. In addition, staff have enhanced sanitation practices to ensure carts and debit pads are wiped down after each use, no food or drinks allowed inside, and no cash payment will be accepted at this time. 

 

Manotick Gardens

This is your one-stop-shop for everything gardens and landscaping; Whether you’re looking for annuals, perennials, herbs and vegetables, hanging baskets, sand, soil, or sod, Manotick Gardens has it. 

 

This local nursery is open to the public, seven days a week from 9 am-5 pm, with reduced hours of 10 am-4 pm on Sundays. Delivery services are also advertised on their website for larger orders. Manotick Gardens also promotes social distancing measures while shopping to ensure that the plants, staff, and community remain safe during these uncertain times. 

 

Ritchie Feed and Seed 

Ritchie Feed and Seed in Stittsville is open for business! With a long history of dedicated service to the agriculture industry in the Ottawa valley, Ritchie Feed and Seed offers a variety of products for your lawn and garden, bird care, farm and feeds, and much more. 

 

At this time, they are operating on slightly reduced hours, with newly enhanced cleaning guidelines to provide a safe shopping experience. 

 

Richmond Nursery 

Richmond Nursery is a lovely local nursery located south-west of Ottawa,  in Richmond ON. As an environmentally conscious nursery, they strive to reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides by using more bio-friendly options, avoid plastic products as much as possible, and exercise full-use recycling.

Richmond Nursery is currently offering online orders at www.yourdreamgarden.ca, where you can search for your favourite plants and book a curbside pickup at your own convenience.
While the aim is for a 24-hour turn-around, there are currently delays of up to 3-4 days. Staff are working hard to improve the efficiency of the system to better the turnaround time for all orders. 

 

J.A. Laporte Flowers and Nursery

Although not yet open to the public, J.A. Laporte Flowers and Nursery is offering online orders for curbside pickup between Tuesday and Sunday from 9:00 am-4:00 pm. Located in Orleans, you can order quality seeds, flowers, hanging baskets, soil, accessories and much more to ensure your lawn and garden are looking their best this summer.