About Us

The Inspiration

We didn't come into gardening as experts.

For years we admired gardens from the sidelines. We were urban dwellers with a love of plants and not much space to grow. But after spending several years in the UK, our perspective on gardening changed completely.

There, gardens felt like personal expression. Gardens were part of the culture. Even the smallest spaces carried beauty, mood, and a bit of magic.

When we returned to Ontario, the contrast was hard to ignore. Gardening here often felt restrained. A handful of go-to plants. A two-week rush around Victoria Day. A season shaped more by retail calendars than by the joy of gardening itself.

People blamed the climate. But that wasn't it. It was the culture.

And we knew it didn't have to be that way.

The Farm Years

In 2020, our family moved to a farm and started planting. We named it Kawartha Family Farm.

What began as curiosity quickly became a massive experiment. Over the next five years we planted and observed more than 15,000 perennials, testing hundreds of varieties to see what actually holds up in a lasting garden.

Some plants surprised us and some failed completely.

And some proved themselves year after year.

The farm became our laboratory. It was a place to test plants, growing methods, and ideas about what a garden could be.

During that time we tried over 10 different ways to grow, settling on using soil-blocks. Today, most of our plants begin in soil blocks rather than plastic pots. It's a healthier way for plants to grow, but harder to sell. We then designed our own packaging to make it possible to share our blocks.

The Next Chapter: Honest Perennial Co.

Eventually our learning about plants led to a book. We captured what we learned about perennial plants themselves.

Honest Perennial Co. is the continuation of the work that began on the farm.

While the farm chapter of our lives has closed, the ideas behind it continue. We are committed to helping gardeners understand plants more clearly and build gardens that last.

Today we grow and offer a carefully selected palette of perennials based on what we've observed in real gardens.

We're not a traditional nursery. Think of us more like your local baker. A fresh, limited supply of plants that we've individually nurtured.

Gardening as Creative Work

We believe gardening is creative work. In that spirit we will continue to develop tools and share information to tap into the creativity of all gardeners.

All while building our own new gardens, from a more informed starting point.

A garden culture is something that is built, one gardener at a time.

Stephen and Shelley Hood & Family