Our Story

Tom Boekestyn grew up in the horticulture hub of the world Westland, Netherlands. He took the knowledge and experience he learned from growing up in his Dad's greenhouse as well as running his own, straight to Canada. Virgil Greenhouses was founded in 1972 where Tom started growing tomatoes and a variety of potted plants. 

Tom's brother Pim had been growing Freesia for several years all year round in Holland. At this time it was only being grown for the Spring in Canada. In 1989, Pim decided to immigrate his family to Canada and join forces with his brother Tom at Virgil Greenhouses. The brothers started growing the flower all year round and took over majority of the Freesia market. With the help of his family and their dedicated long time staff, Virgil Greenhouses is now the largest producer of cut Freesia in North America.

In 2000, Tom decided to retire and Pim took the business over. Over the years Pim has strived to keep his operation up to date and innovative. Soil cooling, growing lights, induced co2 are just a few examples.

In 2015 Pim’s son, Peter along with his brother-in-law, Tim have joined Virgil Greenhouses. Together, they are motivated to not only continue providing top quality Freesia into the future but work hard to see the business continues to grow.

They have successfully started to grow onto our product line with premium cut Ranunculus. Through much research and trials, they are now able to provide locally grown Ranunculus year round. They are both excited to see what the future holds for this most beautiful and highly praised cut.