Vendor Spotlight: Roots & Shoots

Growing up in London, Roots & Shoots owner and operator Bess Hilton was always surrounded by plants, animals, and nature. Her mother always had a large garden filled with native plants and wildlife, and she has memories of playing in the nearby trees or searching for bugs and butterflies while her mom would be tending to her garden. "My mom would always tell me about how beneficial different creatures were to helping naturally control bugs," said Bess. "We would take walks in the woods and she would point out all the different types of native flowers and plants, and I would search for fossils and stones in the creek." As Bess grew older, she found herself wanting to reconnect with her roots through exploring growing her own plants, just as her mother had when she was a child, and in 2020 she officially started Roots & Shoots. 

In the beginning, Bess started off with a small fish pond in her moms backyard, where she grew pond plants that outgrew their space, including water hyacinths and water lettuce. "There was a lot of interest, and I did it for several years, so much so that the people who had initially replied to my sale ads came back year after year to purchase plants because mine were some of the healthiest they had seen," Bess said happily. But due to seasonality, Bess was limited in terms of what she could grow and sell, so the plant business idea was put onto the back burner while she was in school and working two jobs. 

After graduating from college as a Registered Early Childhood Educator, Bess met her now-husband and their family grew. She still had the fish pond at her moms house, but with a larger family, Bess, her husband and their daughter moved to St. Thomas in 2020. "Right from moving in I wanted to build my fish pond in the backyard so we could move the fish and plants I had, but that's not where we started," Bess said. Instead, she found herself looking up ideas on Pinterest and stumbled upon greenhouse designs, and Bess's plan began to pivot. "I began to think about all the fruits and vegetables I could grow for our family right at home," Bess said with a smile. "I told my husband about the idea, and he was skeptical at first, but he always helps bring my ideas to life." Bess began hunting for greenhouse structures and frames online and found one nearby in London, but when she returned home with it, it was too big for the space she had in mind. "We made it work," Bess said proudly. "We built planter boxes for inside the greenhouse using recycled materials like wood pallets, mulch, cardboard and bricks. Once everything was built my husband filled the garden beds with dirt, and I started mapping out plans for each garden bed." 

All of this work was done in just one summer, and with it came many learning curves for Bess. From growing too many useable plants, to pest issues, and learning to adjust the greenhouse structural supports and ventilation, Bess continued through it all, determined to see her dream become real. "The greenhouse expanded to outside and we built raised garden beds and strawberry boxes," Bess explained. "We expanded to larger vegetables such as watermelons and pumpkins that did really well." After some years of research, trial and error, and learning tips and tricks, Bess officially opened up the Roots & Shoots greenhouse to the public, and began to sell seedlings and hand grown plants - all of which are grown from seeds which Bess saves herself. 

In addition to selling seedlings and plants, Bess has started canning and making sourdough bread - all rooted in the same philosophy of knowing where her food comes from, and what goes into it. "I hate waste of any kind, and I had already been freezing foods, so I wanted to try something different," Bess explained. Her canning journey started off with pickles, and she slowly moved to canning other items, like green beans, tomato sauce made from her own tomatoes, and pickled Banana peppers, which she proudly bring to Horton, alongside seedlings, preserves, and homemade baked goods like her sourdough bread. 

Roots & Shoots has been coming to Horton on and off since Bess and her family moved back to St. Thomas around 2020, and they enjoy the market atmosphere and the focus on producer-made goods. "Everyone around is very nice and supportive, and we're surrounded by local vendors," Bess explained. "It's nice to be around people who are local and sell local things you can't find elsewhere." Horton has also helped Bess get the Roots & Shoots name out into the community, as well as instill some of her environmental knowledge with market-goers interested in chatting and asking questions about the plants, seedlings, and preserves offered at her table. 

Everything at Roots & Shoots is hand-grown and hand-made, and all of her plants are pesticide free. All Bess's seeds are Canadian grown, and her use of seed saving has allowed her to grow unique varieties like tomatoes which aren't commonly found. Bess uses natural pest management solutions, and is passionate about teaching those in her community about native plants, pollinators, starting seeds, pests, and so much more. Through her work as a Registered Early Childhood Educator, Bess incorporates her plant and nature knowledge into her teachings, and she is more than happy to chat with shoppers at Horton, or connect over her Facebook page or email. 

Bess's passion and care for plants and nature is evident, and she is proud to be a supporter and partner of the Canadian Wildlife Federation and WWF-Canada for over 20 years. She is a wealth of knowledge, and when she isn't busy in the greenhouse or working her full-time job teaching toddlers, she can be found researching and expanding her knowledge around plants, pollinators, and ecologically mindful practices.

Check out her website for more information about native plants and pollinators, or stop by her table at Horton on October 25 to chat. Bess is always happy to answer any questions in person when Roots & Shoots is at Horton, or via email or through her social media pages. 

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Paige Palmer, Marketing Assistant

Paige is a proud recent graduate of Western University's Media and Communications (MACS) program and King's University College's Thanatology program. Born and raised in Elgin County, Paige loves connecting with local people and businesses to tell their stories and promote their hard work. A previous St. Thomas Parks and Forestry summer student, Paige also loves exploring local parks and trails, and promoting the incredible work of the Parks and Forestry department, while capturing some beautiful pictures along the way. ​