A second-generation grower turned leader shares how his roots in the family business prepared him for a new role shaping Canada’s horticultural future.

For Aaron Hickey, plants have always been part of life. The newest member of the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) board of directors, representing Newfoundland and Labrador, grew up in the family greenhouse business and has now taken on a role at the national level.

Aaron said Hickey’s Greenhouses started out as a “passion and hobby project” for his father, who primarily sold bedding plants out of a homemade greenhouse made with recycled items. 

As demand grew, so did the business. Aaron’s parents, Leonard and Elaine, built a larger commercial greenhouse in their backyard in Placencia, NL in 1990. They built three more greenhouses over the years before making the bold decision at ages 65 and 58 to create a 12,000 square foot, gutter-connected greenhouse in Conception Bay South in 2012.  

“It’s been quite successful since then,” Aaron said, though he noted that the first year in business for the massive greenhouse near St John’s, NL was challenging due to bad weather and heavy expenses.

As a teenager, Aaron worked alongside his parents. “There were never enough employees. Anyone in this business knows that story. We pitched in as a family and helped out a lot.” 

Later, Aaron built a career away from horticulture, working as a border services officer, commercial banker, and in satellite communications before returning home. 

“Family does things for family. And then we started back down that road and realized, you know, I’m pretty busy with this now.” 

For the past six years, Aaron has taken on a central role in operations, IT, and supplier management. Running a greenhouse in Newfoundland comes with unique challenges. 

Newfoundland is a place that doesn’t get much of a spring,

With a risk of frost lasting into June, the entire season is condensed into a hectic six-week window, during which most annual revenue is generated. 

“That time of year is really crazy,” he said. By mid-July, after weeks of non-stop work, “we all need a breather because everyone’s been working pretty hard.”

Although running a business comes with tedious tasks like filing taxes or navigating employee relations, at the heart of it all is a simple motivation for Aaron: a love for plants. 

“When you have a genuine interest and a genuine love for what you provide to the customers, what you do and grow yourself, then you forget about the other stuff,” he said.  “I just have a genuine interest in the plants myself. Like if you came into my house, it’s a jungle on the inside.”

Aaron currently sits on three CNLA committees including Member Services and Communications, where he brings fresh perspectives from his background in finance and communications. 

The third committee is a more significant departure. 

“I'm on the Government Relations Committee right now, which is an interesting one for me,” he said. 

“There's a lot to learn there,” Aaron continued. “But I've never been one who's afraid to try something new.”

The Hickeys have long been involved with CNLA. Leonard served on the Newfoundland and Labrador Horticultural Association, and was a Canadian delegate who attended several International Garden Centre Association’s annual congress tours. 

Aaron said the CNLA has “always made us feel included, which is an important thing when you’re in a remote part of Canada.”

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