Laporte's Nursery & Greenhouses

Meet Lori Laporte and Kelsey McMullen, the Family Behind Laporte's Nursery in North Bay

When you walk into Laporte's Nursery and Greenhouses, the people helping you are family. Lori Laporte owns the garden centre, and her daughter Kelsey McMullen works right beside her, keeping the books, helping with the ordering, and taking a bigger part in every major decision. Kelsey is the fourth generation. As she counts it: "My great grandparents, my grandpa, my mom and me."

Kelsey went from her job at Toyota straight to the garden centre, and she has been at her mom's side ever since. Ask what it is like working with your mom through the busy season and she does not hesitate. They rarely butt heads, and when they do disagree, they talk it over in private. "It's never been like, man, I don't want to go into work today."

A North Bay Garden Centre That Started in Grandma's Garden

It began with Kelsey's great grandparents, Tina and Alec Laporte. Tina's garden in Nipissing Junction was so full of tomatoes and vegetables that people started stopping to buy them. She would dig up or pick whatever they wanted, wrap it in newspaper, and put an elastic around it. Alec ran Alec's Meat Market downtown, where The Joke Shop later stood, and plenty of people remember him driving the bus between North Bay and Temiscaming and out to Callander.

Then customers started asking if they could buy the plants and grow the vegetables themselves. That is how Laporte's Nursery was born, more than seventy years ago.

Kelsey still remembers the old place on Toronto Street: a big red house in front, the garden centre behind it, and huge gardens out back with a walkway and a gazebo, where customers could wander through and see everything growing.

Four Generations of the Laporte Family, Growing in North Bay

Kelsey's grandfather, James Laporte, took over the business in 1971. In 1999, with business growing fast, the family moved the garden centre to its current, much larger home. Lori runs it today, and she has given it what Kelsey calls a new vision.

If her great grandparents walked in today, Kelsey thinks they would be proud. "I think they would be pretty proud where my mom has brought it, and even with me eventually going to be taking over."

Cold Hardy Plants for North Bay Gardens: Your Success Is Their Success

The one thing Kelsey still hears from her grandfather is simple: your success is our success. James Laporte wanted customers to know the family is there for them, and the family will not sell a plant that is not proven cold hardy for our northern climate.

Kelsey puts it plainly. There is no point selling you something just to make a dollar if it will not make it through our winters. You would get frustrated, or you would shop somewhere else. "It just doesn't benefit anyone by lying."

Rebuilding the Greenhouses at Laporte's Nursery After the Snow of 2019

In 2019, Kelsey was driving to pick up her kids from Lori, on the way to her in laws' fiftieth anniversary, when she passed the garden centre and saw that the greenhouses had collapsed under the snow. She called her mom right away. "Mom, they're gone." Her husband and Lori went in on snowshoes. A few days later the insurance company told them greenhouse structures this far north were not covered for snow load.

Walking away was never on the table. "This was our family business. We're proud of our family business, and there was no way we were going to walk away from it." Lori learned every part of ordering and rebuilding a greenhouse from scratch. Kelsey's brother in law came down and helped build the first one, and her husband built the rest.

Today there is one large heated greenhouse and five more, spaced apart so the snow can slide off either side, with heat trace in the gutters to melt the snow and ice. "We've had to go above and beyond so that these things don't happen again." Kelsey is proud of her mom for that. She could easily have thrown in the towel.

What to Know Before You Buy a Plant in North Bay

Kelsey's advice starts with hardiness. Then think about where the plant is going: how much sun it gets, and how much protection. A full sun plant put in the shade will not grow the way you expect.

Nine times out of ten, though, the problem is water. In the first year, especially for trees and shrubs, watering is number one. Most people put the hose away too early. When you plant something in May, keep watering it until the ground freezes, because a plant that goes into winter dry cannot sustain itself.

And everything starts with your soil. "If you buy a dollar bag, you are going to get a dollar quality." When you plant, put bone meal in the bottom of the hole. It is a good root enhancer, and it keeps working as a fertilizer after.

Houseplants, Perennials, Trees and Shrubs at a North Bay Garden Centre

Laporte's carries annuals, vegetables and herbs, perennials, roses, trees, shrubs and evergreens, soil, mulch and stone, pots and planters, and outdoor furniture. The garden centre is Proven Winners certified, and the family works with growers in Southern Ontario, including Brownridge Greenhouses in Milton, which has grown for them for more than sixty years.

Laporte's is also a big houseplant supplier. Now that the main greenhouse finally has heat, the houseplants live there, and even in winter you can walk through a warm greenhouse full of tropical plants. The heavy recycled plastic outdoor chairs are a favourite of Kelsey's too. She has had some for years, and they still look new. You leave them out and that is it.

You can shop online at laportesnursery.ca for pickup. Live plants are sold in store only.

Customer Service at Laporte's Nursery, From People Who Know Your Name

Ask Kelsey what she would want a five star review to mention beyond the plants, and the answer is customer service. Show people where things are, give them the right information, be polite. If someone on staff does not know the answer, they find someone who does. Kelsey replies to every Google review, good or bad.

Some customers have been coming for generations. Lori remembers customers from when she was a little girl, and she knows their names, and their husbands and wives and kids. It is part of why the family reads the obituaries, Kelsey says. So many of the names are people they have known for years.

Bloo, the garden centre cat, helps too. She keeps the moles out of the stock, comes out with the family when they shovel, and does not like to be held, but will come rub against your legs.

Christmas Urns, Workshops and What Is Next at Laporte's

Every Christmas urn at Laporte's is made in house, filled and weighted by the family, not bought in. This year they plan to make a big one for the new arena across the road, just to do something nice for the community. The family has hosted workshops too, like a red truck holiday planter that drew a room full of teachers, and the heated greenhouse gives them space for more.

Watch their Facebook and Instagram for behind the scenes videos, like Lori on the tractor unloading a truck of trees and shrubs, and for pruning tips in the spring. The family is also opening a second garden centre, Northern Blooms Garden Centre in Timmins, which Kelsey's sister Ashley will run.

What to Expect When You Visit Laporte's Nursery

In season, Laporte's is open Monday to Saturday from 9 to 5, and Sundays from 10 to 4. The garden centre closes at noon on December 24 and opens again in mid February, though with the arena opening across the road, the family is thinking about a shorter winter break.

When you come in, ask questions. You will get an honest answer from someone who grew up in the place. And if it is a game night, Kelsey might have slipped out to watch her kids play, then come straight back to work. "The garden center is important to me, but so is family."