When Adrian Byland arrived in Canada from his native Holland in 1953 he brought a family tradition of growing nursery stock that dated back to the 1700's. In 1956 when Adrian and Katie Byland bought their first 12 acres of land between Westbank and Kelowna, they never envisioned a business encompassing 300 acres of land and growing in excess of one million plants. Adrian knew the importance of a location next to Highway 97, and locals remember the wisdom of his purchase despite the fact that the bridge hadn't been built yet and that the land resembled a pile of rocks.
Throughout the 1950's and 1960's the nursery was heavily involved in the production of fruit trees for the local orchard industry. Although Bylands continues to produce fruit trees, the demand for landscape plants surpassed that of fruit trees in the 1970's as the Okanagan population began to grow rapidly. Another significant change occurred at this time with the introduction of container grown plants to the nursery industry. This allowed nurseries such as Bylands to sell their plants year round instead of just early spring. Adrian Byland was quick to recognize the importance of this development and was one of the first nurseries in Canada to begin to grow container plants in commercial quantities.
Bylands Nurseries remains a family-run enterprise. In 1982, Katie took over the role of company president following the passing of Adrian. Their son John has since assumed this position, and his wife Maria manages the Garden Centre.
Today, Adrian's mission of responsibly providing the highest quality stock at the lowest possible price is still the focal point of Bylands Nurseries. After all, it is our family tradition.
