By John Francis, Bruce Peninsula Press
One of Northern Bruce Peninsula’s cornerstone businesses is entering a new era. Peninsula Out Of Doors Garden Centre, founded by Don and Wendy Cameron in 1992, is now under new ownership. New owners Dustin and Jessica Hall took over in February.
In 1986, Don and Wendy started a lawn and garden care business. They also started growing their own flowers. In 1991 they rented the old service station at Cemetery Road (Centreville), a couple of kilometres south of Ferndale so that customers could come to them. And come they did.
A few years later they took the plunge — bought a piece of property at the corner of Hwy 6 and Budvet Road and built a full service garden centre. The garden centre opened in the spring of 1992.
The people kept coming. In fact, as fast as the Camerons added new greenhouse capacity to grow more flowers, more people came in to buy them. There are now eight greenhouses, all full to the rafters with bedding plants and hanging plants, plus a large selection of shrubs and trees and a retail space.
They also built up a landscaping business on the side. That business, a partnership with their son, Justin Cameron, is now known as Peninsula Roots Landscaping Ltd.
But after thirty years of hundred-hour weeks, Don and Wendy will be stepping away from the garden centre.
New owners of the the Peninsula Out Of Doors Garden Centre (POOD) are Jessica and Dustin Hall. Jessica’s maiden name is Deacon; she spent her childhood in the apartment above the family business, Deacon’s Hardware in Wiarton. She and Dustin have been living in Dundas (he’s from Hamilton) for the last seven years, trying to find a way to move their young family back to the peninsula.
They are excited to take over a thriving business and look forward to meeting all the customers. Jessica will handle the retail end of the business (“I learned to run a cash register when I was about 8”) while Dustin will concentrate on the plants and greenhouses. They expect that their kids (1 and 3) will grow up around the garden centre.
The ownership change took place in February. Don and Wendy say (on Facebook) “You will still see our faces around the greenhouses this spring as we help out Jessica & Dustin with the transition & hand over the watering wand”.
