Local green thumbs getting ready for the season at The Mill on Dominion

Kriena Thielking had Monday marked on her calendar since last year.

She’s director at large with the Fort Erie Horticultural Society, and someone who looks ahead to the wintry weather going away so she can dig into the soil and get her gardens ready.

She could be found shopping at The Mill Greenhouses in Ridgeway on Monday, the grand opening for this season of the family-owned business on Dominion Road, which has been in operation since 2008.

“My green thumbs are itching,” she joked with Fort Erie Radio as she browsed for items that will be part of arrangements for an upcoming event being hosted by the group.

She said it’s too early for outdoor planting, but that she is delighted to be back at the local greenhouse to purchase smaller indoor plants.

The Mill typically opens two weeks before Easter or the start of April, whichever comes first, said Adam Sneek, who owns the local business with his wife Diana.

At about noon on Monday, a lot of people had been in to buy pansies and houseplants, things that indicate the “first touch of spring” has arrived, said Diana.

Some customers come in as part of the process of deciding what they will be planting at home this year.

“A lot of people are coming in to look around and get an idea,” she said.

Spring and summer flowers are not quite ready, nor are vegetable plants.

“Usually in the middle of May it really ramps up,” said Adam, noting that cooler weather means having to control the temperature in their 60,000 square feet of greenhouse space, including in the 23,000-square-foot area they added through an expansion about two years ago.

The Mill has another location on Highway 3 in Port Colborne, founded by Sneek’s parents and currently operated by his older brother. But they are separate operations, he said.

Diana said on Monday that she has seen a lot of the “usual suspects,” people who have been regulars for many years and usually start making appearances early in the spring.

Mother’s Day is a busy time of year they are getting prepared for, which usually draws more business when that weekend has nice weather, they both said.

And on April 12, The Mill will host its second annual spring market, an event that will boast more than 30 vendors from Greater Fort Erie and Niagara.

There will be crafts, food trucks, as well as lobster rolls prepared by Anchored on Ridge, a business in downtown Ridgeway.

The event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Mill is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday.

In May, it will also be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays.

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