Hendrick (Henry) Buyting was born in 1903. At age six, he started working with his father on the family farm in a small town called Doetinchem, Holland. Over the years, he continued the business of growing vegetable and flower plants and selling them at local markets. Henry would later marry a young woman from the down of Diedam. Along with his wife, Theodore, they later started a family consisting of five children; Gerald, Tony, Harry, John and Anne.

Soon after the Second World War, during the time that Holland was dealing with the great floods that ruined much of the country, Henry and his family moved to Canada in search of greener pastures. When the Buyting family arrived in Canada in 1953, they took refuge with another Dutch family in Minto, the Scholtens. A few members of the family started jobs in the local mines while Henry quickly found some farmland so that they could start farming again.

Over the years the Buytings dabbled in many different kinds of businesses and farm. They finally settled down in Sheffield, N.B., where they started to work on the grounds to build a successful cabbage, corn and lettuce farm. Over the years, the family built up a large carrot farm along with a seasonal greenhouse operation, growing and selling bedding plants for the wholesale market. the only retail business they had was a little roadside stand setup to sell some of their plants.

In 1986, after a fire claimed their carrot storage facilities and packing plants, Harry and Gerald Buyting purchased 25 acres of land in Fredericton. That is when they went to work on their newest project, Green Village. On May 10, 1988, Green Village was open for business.

Henry Buyting passed away in 1994 at the age of 91. The Buyting family was fortunate to have Henry with them for so long. He kept quite active and loved working in the greenhouse. In fact, Henry consistently showed up for work in the greenhouse right up until he turned 89 years old. Many people still remember him working in the greenhouse and being party of Green Village

Harry and his wife Annie continued to operate Green Village, now with their son Andy slowly working into the company. Gerald, who ran the wholesale end of the business decided to retire in 1995 and as a result, the family shut down the growing operation in Sheffield the following year to concentrate on the Green Village retail operation.

Green Village Home & Garden Fredericton has grown to become one of the top garden centers in Canada. In recent years the Green Village business has grown to include a landscape division, Green Village Landscape & Design, as well as the launch of its second retail store in Moncton, N.B. Green Village Home & Garden Moncton opened its doors for business on April 26, 2008. The Buyting family, as always, put a great deal of pride into their work. For that reason, Green Village Home & Garden continues to grow most of the plants that are sold in the stores. It is that consistent strive for quality along with good old fashion customer service that has made Green Village Home & Garden what it is today.

If Henry Buyting were still alive, he’d be proud

Interesting Family Documents: