Bloom Across Canada complied stories from 50 women and non-binary people from across Canada, sharing their stories of creativity and entrepreneurship in a single volume.
Every province and territory is represented, as is Vancouver Island.
Thanushi Eagalle's story is featured in this book; a woman who has made the Comox Valley her home as of 2020.
Escaping the uninspiring Vancouver landscape in search of more welcoming creative types, Eagalle and her partner found their home in the Comox Valley. On one trip to visit a friend in Courtenay, Eagalle experienced firsthand the friendliness that is known throughout the Valley.
“When I came to the Valley to visit a friend and went to the farmers market and just explored, I found that the community and the people really made eye contact and engaged in conversation,” Eagalle shares.
While in the Lower Mainland, Eagalle couldn’t dedicate herself full-time to farming and was exploring areas where she could find the right fit.
“(The Valley) definitely felt welcoming and there was a really strong agricultural community.”
Eagalle has been growing flowers for a long as she has always had a garden but she turned to floral production in 2018 when she started growing flowers for the market at the Edible Garden Project in North Vancouver, a fresh food security program.
From there Eagalle moved on to working once a week with Farmers on 57th, an urban growing space in Vancouver. It was during this time that she wanted more out of the agricultural world and started exploring for a place she could turn into a full time growing landscape.
“It was in 2020 when I decided to do our farming full-time and create my own business.”
And with that, Wild Bee Florals was born in the Comox Valley.
While the work is somewhat seasonal, Eagalle shares that there is always some kind of work to be done on the land and in the office.
“I apply for a lot of grants in the winter. There’s still things like tulips that are housed inside our large houses. When the last frost hits the field production, which this year was mid-October, we halt our sales and focus on putting the beds to sleep,” she describes. “Our flower production time runs from the tulips in mid-April til about mid-October. That is our focus time for growing flowers.”
Besides her flower production, Eagalle is the event and special projects officer at North Island College. She says the position helps to calm her nerves in terms of the weather and climate creating devastating effects on her crops.
“I’m not out of an income and the running [of my farm]. It holds flexibilities so I can get even more creative and take bigger risks.”
When asked if she has a favourite flower, Eagalle is quick to answer.
“Tweedia. It’s this bright blue tiny flower but the bees love it, it’s a type of milkweed. It doesn’t have the best smell but it’s just so beautiful and it's just a little flower magic.”
Eagalle comes to the floral world with a master's in science for evolutionary biology from the University of Guelph. She also holds a master's in education from the University of British Columbia.
Her background in education is paramount in what she does for the community with Wild Bee Florals.
“We host events and workshops. We offer u-pick flower sessions, floral design arrangements based on the season. We also work with local artists and creatives to offer workshops where you take indigo and create some beautiful prints and scarves.”
Eagalle hopes to expand her workshops and collaborations with artists more in 2025.
“We want more artists to come into the space and use it as a creative place.”
You can find Bloom Across Canada online and in bookstores now.
