Just over a year ago, lifelong Guysborough County resident and trained horticulturist Shane Cook opened the doors of Glenkeen Greenhouse to the public. Situated overlooking the Milford Haven River near Boylston, the greenhouse complements Shane’s existing property maintenance business and has quickly become a destination for locally grown products.

What began as a single, small-scale greenhouse has now blossomed into two as the business continues to grow—an expansion that would have been years away without support through the Guysborough District Business Partnership’s Incubation Loan Program.

While customers see vibrant flowers and overflowing hanging baskets in the spring, the work begins months earlier. With the help of his family, Shane starts preparing the greenhouse while snow still covers the ground. Growing thousands of flowers, vegetables, herbs, and hanging baskets requires constant attention and dependable heat throughout the colder months. Any interruption in heat can result in the loss of an entire crop overnight—something Shane says “has caused sleepless nights during the colder parts of the year.”

As demand for locally grown plants increased, space quickly became a challenge. The original greenhouse could no longer keep up with the demand or the short seasonal window. Looking for a way to expand without waiting years to save the necessary capital, Shane submitted an application to the GDBP’s low-interest loan program, designed to help local entrepreneurs start or grow their small local businesses.

After completing the application process, Shane was approved for funding that allowed him to purchase and construct a second greenhouse. The additional space has significantly increased his growing capacity, allowing him to offer a wider variety of products, including trees and shrubs in the coming months, while positioning the business for continued growth in the years ahead.

Beyond selling plants, Shane enjoys sharing his knowledge with customers. A visit to Glenkeen Greenhouse is as much an educational experience as it is a shopping trip. He takes time to offer advice with every purchase and says, “Not only do you leave feeling confident about how to care for your new plants, but you can feel good knowing you’ve supported local, too.”

Within four short weeks, all 100 hanging baskets grown in the new greenhouse had already sold.

With the expansion proving to be a success, Shane is now looking ahead to extending the growing season into the fall and increasing his production even further next year. Reflecting on the decision to expand, he says he feels “a sense of relief” knowing the investment was the right decision and he now knows that there is truth to the saying, “If you build it, they will come.”

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