"We were specifically looking for an area to grow the roses as well as nursery stock," he explains.

"Northumberland was reasonably priced. Because it is an agricultural area, there are supply companies nearby and experienced help."

The family transplanted Pickering Nurseries to Northumberland in 2004.

Although many customers come directly to the nursery, most of the roses are sold through mail-order, or directly to garden centres, so the move did not affect their client base. If anything, it has given them an opportunity to expand. In May 2007, as a result of popular demand, they opened a "plant centre" at their new location, selling trees and shrubs, in addition to roses.

Joel and Joseph Schraven take a moment from the fields for a photo. Joel's grandfather ran a rose-and-apple-growing business in Holland. His father, now in Canada planted the first few thousand rose understocks in the spring of 1951 and a family business was reborn.

"Besides," he laughs, "what am I going to do with all this grass?"

He is referring to 96 acres fronting County Road 2 and another 50 on Deer Park Road, of which only a portion can be planted in roses.

"The timeline for a crop of roses, soil and field preparation not withstanding, is two years," he explains. "You can’t go back on the same parcel of land for five years. Roses take so much out of the soil you have to rotate the crops."

A new crop cycle begins each May when the Schravens, along with seasonal help, plant 150,000 understock (also known as rootstock) on eight acres. These are the roots of a single type of rose that have been grown in Holland from seed. The root stocks are carefully nurtured until August when buds of selected varieties are grafted onto the stocks.

"We bring in skilled help from England for grafting, a professional budder," Mr.Schraven explains, "The technique is a process that’s been going on for hundreds and hundreds of years."

It can be compared to the technique used in apple grafting where one type of apple is grafted onto the tree of another variety.

"The following spring, we top them, which is cutting off the wild growth, cutting off the tops, just leaving the bud. Throughout the season, we trim them back to force new growth."