When Tanya Olsen was ten years old, her mother brought her to the birthday party of a neighbourhood friend. Her friend’s mother greeted her at the door with a balloon and a permanent marker and asked her name and what she wanted to be when she grew up. Tanya didn’t hesitate.
“I’m Tanya, and I want to own Royal City Nursery and become a horticultural apprenticeship instructor at Humber College just like my dad.”
Tanya’s mother shrugged and smiled as her friend’s mother wrote Tanya’s name and dream job on the balloon. Unsurprisingly, 40 years later, Tanya is living out her lifelong dream to continue her family business. With the help of her husband, Dave, whom she met at the University of Guelph while studying landscape architecture, the two have assembled a team of passionate employees and a supportive community that truly feels like a family.
This year, Royal City Nursery is celebrating 60 years in business. This would be a remarkable milestone for any independent shop, but it holds significant meaning for this family-run garden centre that has spanned three generations.
When asked what she is most proud of, Tanya says, “We’re still here.”
The journey to 60 years didn’t always run smoothly. Still, thanks to the unwavering support of our community and the steadfast determination of Tanya and the Olsen family, Royal City Nursery continues to help make Guelph an even more beautiful place to live.
“It takes a village. It does. And that village goes both ways, too, right? We need the village to support us. So we also try very hard to make sure we support our local village,“ says Tanya.
It all started in the 1950s when Tanya’s grandfather—a master horticulturist—emigrated from Denmark and hitchhiked across North America in search of the perfect place to build his plant nursery, all while learning to speak English. He decided on Southern Ontario, where fruit trees and flowering shrubs abound. After working for Sheridan Nurseries in Georgetown, he later got a job at the University of Guelph. He and his wife saved enough money to purchase the original property of Royal City Nursery on Woodlawn Road in 1962.
Unlike the garden centres and nurseries that we’re used to nowadays, the original Royal City Nursery property was quite literally a field of trees and plants. You’d pick a plant, and Mr. Olsen would dig it up. Here, they grew various landscape plants, started a cucumber farm, and built their first storefront. This setting was home to countless memories and warm connections, where the next two generations of Olsen children cultivated their love of plants and serving the community.
Tanya’s father joined the partnership with his parents in the 1980’s, and his wife Doreen joined the family business in 2000 shortly after her grandparents died. Within just a few years, new challenges arose that jeopardized the future of Royal City Nursery. Tanya’s father underwent a double lung transplant in 2005. As he recovered and Tanya helped run the garden centre, she recalls the outpouring of support from friends, staff, community members, and even a supply vendor who volunteered to take over the ordering and merchandise so that Tanya could spend time with her father.
“That’s one of those times where you never really know the depth of your community until you really need them.”
Tanya’s father recovered and got back to work, but then a new challenge arose that dramatically changed the course of Royal City Nursery’s future: the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario had sent a letter stating that Highway 7 was to be built through their property and to prepare for expropriation. The Olsens received their final notice in 2014. Suddenly, they had 120 days to find a new home for the garden centre. Tanya faced a difficult choice: open a new garden centre, or walk away. This would have been an arduous process for anyone—and Tanya did it all while undergoing Stage 3 breast cancer treatment. She started chemotherapy on her 40th birthday and did a full year of treatment through 2014, right as the expropriation started, and was left to search for a new property while in recovery.
Tanya persevered, opening up a temporary office location next door, 200 feet away from their previous spot, without any access to water to keep their plants hydrated. She negotiated with the Ministry of Transportation to allow her to store her plants at the previous location, so customers could make their purchases at the office, then walk the field to pick up their plants. Beginning April 2015, she juggled all the demands of running her family’s business across two separate spots. Then, her father entered hospice care in 2015. The Olsens still didn’t have a permanent property, and Tanya needed to make a plan.
She and her husband sold their home so they could buy the current property Royal City Nursery sits on today. After navigating complicated zoning laws, building permits, and countless hurdles, Tanya received the keys to her new space. Unfortunately, her father didn’t get the chance to be there—he died just 12 hours earlier that morning.
“I know when he died, he died at peace because he knew his girls were taken care of. And he knew that we had been declared farmers, which is an important piece of agricultural land to maintain the agricultural rating. I remember him sitting up when we told him, and just before he died, my mom drove them out to the property. They just sat on the side of the road and stared and stared out. I just wish he could have had another 12 hours.”
Royal City Nursery’s new location opened in April of 2016, and since then, they affectionately refer to their anniversary as their “Earth Day Birthday.” With a new fashion boutique, Christmas space and plenty of space to grow their business, Tanya is hopeful for the future of Royal City Nursery. She likens it to those first few days of spring, where you go outside and suddenly smell the scent of fresh, moist soil.
“It’s like that renewal of the cycle and so much opportunity. It just clicks in your brain. Suddenly, there’s this optimism, and there’s so much to look forward to.”
Helping people create beautiful outdoor spaces and backyard sanctuaries contributes to a happier, healthier life, and being a part of that journey is what makes the industry so gratifying. As Tanya and Dave continue the incredible legacy their family has built, it’s certainly no surprise why they are such a treasured part of the Guelph community.
Here’s to the next 60 years, Royal City Nursery!
