Yesteryear

Willowbrook Nurseries Inc. gets going May 1, 1979 by John and Jocelyn Langendoen.

1979-1999

  • 1979-Firstly we rent 30 acres of land and start container grown plants in a greenhouse.
  • 1981-We buy our first 10 acres, 1000 Balfour St., and need to hire our first employee.
  • 1982-We hire Rob Bouwers. He is here to this day as sales a manager to the sales team.
  • 1986-We quit our jobs but start work full time at Willowbrook.
  • 1991-We invest in a separate 50 acres, therefore establishing a second site for Willowbrook. Neighbouring property is available and we purchase it as well. After that, 935 Victoria Ave. is our main location and 1000 Balfour St. is for propagation.

2000-Present

  • 2002-We build an office and shipping facility at 935 Victoria Ave.
  • 2005-Jocelyn is sick with cancer. But she has a clean bill of health after surgery and treatment.
  • 2008-The cancer is back and, as a result, Jocelyn has more surgery.
  • 2009-Jocelyn goes to her heavenly home January 22 after a courageous battle with cancer. Chris, our son, is Vice President of the company now.
  • 2013-We build greenhouses along Victoria Ave. for perennials. Additionally we clear out area around the warehouse and pave it.
  • 2014-Similarly we clear out a field. It is set it up with irrigation for blocks of 'pot-in-pot' trees.
  • 2015-The perennial greenhouse construction is complete.
  • 2016-We expand the farm toward Canboro Rd. In summary, we put plant product in the hoop houses and the surrounding outdoor blocks.
  • 2017-We dig a new pond to supply water to plants.
  • 2018-Meanwhile, the original Willowbrook site, 1000 Balfour St., gets some upgraded docks and a new rolling bench system.
  • 2019-A busy one. For instance, we celebrate 40 years of business and the shipping warehouse triples in size for shipping ease.

Today

Willowbrook Nurseries covers over 200 acres; all of it dedicated to container grown nursery production. The sales territory extends from Ontario, into Quebec, all of eastern Canada, and into the northeastern United States.

Above all, God has been good to us and we look forward to serving you, our valued customers.