Locally Grown: Do You Know Where Your Plants Are Coming From?

Did you know that many of the plants we offer though our retail and landscape services are Chalet Farm grown? Chalet invested in the Chalet Farm in the fall of 2004, with the first perennials being available in 2005. Chalet has about 100-120 acres in field production and another 20 acres of polyhouses.

Chalet Farm

About the Chalet Farm:

About 27,000 plants are currently growing in the field and about 97,000 plants in containers. In 2017 we planted 46,350 perennials and 25,540 woody plants. We have 15,741 hosta plants in 131 varieties, 12,858 hydrangea plants in 89 varieties, 34 varieties of ornamental grasses, 5,300 arborvitae, and 30,000 boxwood in production!

Chalet Farm

Why buy local?

  • Our plants are fuller and more vigorous because we space them farther apart than in a traditional nursery setting. To us, it’s not about the quantity of plants we produce in a season, but the quality of the plants we produce.
  • Our root systems are larger, stronger, and healthier due to the extra space allowing them to spread out, absorbing the necessary nutrients from our lake irrigated land.
  • The plants we grow at the farm are climatized to our area. This means when they are planted in your garden in the Chicagoland area, they are guaranteed to succeed since they have already endured all of the natural elements at the farm that they will in their new home.
  • When our plants are placed in the ground, the impact above ground is seen immediately rather than the weeks or months it usually takes for a plant to establish. A Chalet-grown plant also sets roots quickly after planting due to the fact that they are already acclimated to our type of soil and climate.
  • Many of our plants are even allowed an extra year to grow before we offer them for sale, giving our customers a hardier, more robust plant.

Chalet Farm

Chalet Honey

In addition to our plants, did you know we also have bee hives at the farm? We produce 100 percent pure wildflower honey. The bees spend their days at the farm gathering nectar from a diverse variety of Chalet-grown plants and native local wildflowers, creating some of the finest honey available. Since honey is one of nature’s purest foods, we never pasteurize it in order to retain the artisanal integrity of its innate health benefits. Stop by our retail store to pick up a jar of our honey.

Chalet Farm honey

When visiting our store, look for the Chalet Farm logo on trees, shrubs, perennials, and vegetables to be assured of the highest quality plants. They are also available online.

We also offer our farm plants at a special price on Friday’s for our weekly Farm Truck Friday event. We hand pick the best selection of farm plants for the week and offer them in the parking lot of the Wilmette retail store. Sign up here.

Chalet Farm: Farm Truck Fridays

Learn more about our farm:

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