About Us
Background
Urban Green was started by Bob Tigchelaar in the mid 70's in association with Ben Veldhuis, a Dundas area greenhouse grower and early importer of many tropical plant varieties. Ben had a major influence on the growing use of live plants in indoor workplace environments, supplying clients throughout Ontario with plant stock. Ben also specialized in importing and displaying an amazing assortment of cactus plants - from which the annual Dundas Cactus Festival was named, continuing to this day even though the Veldhuis business is no longer in operation.
In late 1980, Bob turned the sole proprietorship of the business over to his son, Peter, who began to operate it under the name of Urban Green. From the beginning, the idea has been a simple one: to supply quality interior foliage plants, primarily to workplace environments, and to deliver a viable and consistent service of care for them. Over time, the business began to evolve from simply being plant maintenance to what we like to think of as "Plant Care." In that word Care is the seed of a very important Bigger Idea behind cultivating the growth of live plants in the workplace.
Plant Care-People Care
From "Plant Care" there is an obvious connection to "People Care": behind the watering, feeding and nurture of live plants in our clients' work spaces is the desire to care for and feed the spirits of people - business owners, staff and their customers alike. Urban Green operates under the conviction that living plants, and the fact that they are being knowledgably cared for, have a tremendous impact on humanizing our clients' workplaces in a way that very few other products or services are able to.
Our slogan "Cultivating Interior Gardens" has as much to do with creating a garden atmosphere in work spaces as it does with nurturing growth within the spirits of those who occupy those spaces. Research carried out by Green Plants for Green Buildings strongly supports this notion that the growth of plants in work spaces has a direct connection to job satisfaction, increased productivity, and reduced time off work.
Our Clients and Suppliers
Over three decades, Urban Green's client list has grown to include a wide spectrum of our community: financial, industrial and legal businesses, car showrooms, dentist's offices, call centres, government offices, private residences, hospitality establishments, private schools and public libraries. We have a particular interest in expanding our Care Service in our home base of Hamilton where we are actively nurturing interior growth from the Port to the Airport, from industrial offices in the east to residences and library branches in the west.
Urban Green's plant suppliers include both local importers as well as growers on the ground in the Florida Foliage Industry - all committed as we are to the development and improvement of beautiful and sustainable plant varieties. As well, we are members of the Interior Landscape Commodity Group of Landscape Ontario. Peter Tigchelaar, our visionary leader, is an accomplished musician and recording artist, bringing with him a creative approach to designing interior plantscapes - as do his staff who are active volunteers in horticultural and other human spirit nurturing activities.
Background
Urban Green was started by Bob Tigchelaar in the mid 70's in association with Ben Veldhuis, a Dundas area greenhouse grower and early importer of many tropical plant varieties. Ben had a major influence on the growing use of live plants in indoor workplace environments, supplying clients throughout Ontario with plant stock. Ben also specialized in importing and displaying an amazing assortment of cactus plants - from which the annual Dundas Cactus Festival was named, continuing to this day even though the Veldhuis business is no longer in operation.
In late 1980, Bob turned the sole proprietorship of the business over to his son, Peter, who began to operate it under the name of Urban Green. From the beginning, the idea has been a simple one: to supply quality interior foliage plants, primarily to workplace environments, and to deliver a viable and consistent service of care for them. Over time, the business began to evolve from simply being plant maintenance to what we like to think of as "Plant Care." In that word Care is the seed of a very important Bigger Idea behind cultivating the growth of live plants in the workplace.
Plant Care-People Care
From "Plant Care" there is an obvious connection to "People Care": behind the watering, feeding and nurture of live plants in our clients' work spaces is the desire to care for and feed the spirits of people - business owners, staff and their customers alike. Urban Green operates under the conviction that living plants, and the fact that they are being knowledgably cared for, have a tremendous impact on humanizing our clients' workplaces in a way that very few other products or services are able to.
Our slogan "Cultivating Interior Gardens" has as much to do with creating a garden atmosphere in work spaces as it does with nurturing growth within the spirits of those who occupy those spaces. Research carried out by Green Plants for Green Buildings strongly supports this notion that the growth of plants in work spaces has a direct connection to job satisfaction, increased productivity, and reduced time off work.
Our Clients and Suppliers
Over three decades, Urban Green's client list has grown to include a wide spectrum of our community: financial, industrial and legal businesses, car showrooms, dentist's offices, call centres, government offices, private residences, hospitality establishments, private schools and public libraries. We have a particular interest in expanding our Care Service in our home base of Hamilton where we are actively nurturing interior growth from the Port to the Airport, from industrial offices in the east to residences and library branches in the west.
Urban Green's plant suppliers include both local importers as well as growers on the ground in the Florida Foliage Industry - all committed as we are to the development and improvement of beautiful and sustainable plant varieties. As well, we are members of the Interior Landscape Commodity Group of Landscape Ontario. Peter Tigchelaar, our visionary leader, is an accomplished musician and recording artist, bringing with him a creative approach to designing interior plantscapes - as do his staff who are active volunteers in horticultural and other human spirit nurturing activities.
Peter at the piano
Our studio
