Where can you shop with your dog during the holiday season? Yes, several outdoor malls are embracing the pet-friendly vibe – check out Toronto here and Niagara here. But here’s an idea that’s wedge its way to the top of my list: dog-friendly garden centres.

Many of the larger garden centres, in Ontario, Canada, anyway, are keeping their doors open all year. If pets are the new kids, plants are the new pets. The decor and ambiance in garden centres change with the seasonal tide. Christmas holidays are not surprisingly the most colourful and festive. My favorite garden centres are also fully stocked gift stores (and even bakeries), becoming one-stop shops for holiday purchases … and you can bring the dog along!

watering Bringing the dog is a criterion for me. We also fortunate that Southern Ontario is still a very agricultural region, so garden centres are plentiful. If we’re playing favorites, The Watering Can Flower Market in Vineland is high (if not highest) on our list. We visited here in the summer and were not disappointed.

The ‘photo op’ setups are the best, and I expected some festive ones late in the year. Also, The Watering Can thinks about Fido so much, that they offer a ‘Fur Friendly’ planter containing non-toxic plants (see listing below).

Our first stop, however, was Rice Road Garden Centre in Welland, which is our must-go-to stop for summer plants. As expected, this garden centre was decked out for the holidays. I also appreciated the posted list of pet friendly and pet toxic plants, so you can purchase wisely. Note there are greenhouse cats here; please restrain your dog accordingly. If you’re a raw feeder, Rice Road Garden Centre has a fridge stocked with raw feed dog food too.

Then there’s our most frequent garden centre destination: TERRA Greenhouse in Waterdown, Ontario. A popular stop (not far from dog-friendly West Avenue Cider site of an annual Halloween dog festival), TERRA in Waterdown is a huge retail outlet with all the plants you can imagine. I particularly love the potting station, where you can select a decorative pot and a plant (or two) and pot it without leaving the store.

In addition to the season plant selection – including Christmas trees and shrubs – there’s stylish outdoor furniture and a huge boutique gift store. Here you’ll find artificial trees, many decorations (owls seem to be this year’s trend), and many gift items including home decor and even clothing.

Essentially, you can do most of your Christmas shopping at TERRA in Waterdown (and other locations including Burlington, once the site of one dog festival) with your dog in tow on a short leash. My pup always gets lots of attention, mostly from staff. But there are always other customers who love to stop and talk, usually about spaniels specifically. We’re always happy to oblige – especially my belly-rubbing loving pup -but there’s lots here my dog can stick her snout into. Close supervision is necessary.

Rules for taking your dog to garden centres (or anywhere, really):

Please Do:

• Check the Pet Policy: Not all garden centres are pet-friendly. However, all the ones listed here I’ve confirmed are dog-friendly. As usual, dogtrotting.net does the research for you.
• Keep Your Dog Leashed: This one is obvious, but specifically a short leash is best. Festive displays can be distracting for dogs. Most centres I contacted requested keeping dogs under control – also known as ‘well behaved.’
• Bring Waste Bags: Again, picking up after your dog is obvious, yet everywhere needs to emphasize it to patrons. I’d suggest walking your pup around the perimeter of the property to ’empty’ them – shrubs for sale can be tempting for dogs who don’t know the difference.
• Mind Holiday Plants: Don’t let your dog chew plants for a variety of reasons – some are even toxic to dogs. I love the garden centres that offer customers ‘fur baby’ safe plants and planters.
• Consider Other Shoppers and/or Prepare to be Social: Holiday shopping can get crowded, so be aware of your dog’s proximity to other shoppers. Some are afraid of dogs, but in my experience, more people want to stop and interact with your pup. Fortunately, mine is uber-friendly, so I allow time for pets, cuddles, and queries.

Please Don’t:

• Let Your Dog Wander: Displays and decorations can be fragile and easily knocked over. Keep a close watch to avoid accidents with delicate holiday setups.
• Overstay if Your Dog is Anxious: New sights and smells can stress some dogs. If your dog seems uncomfortable, consider cutting your visit short.
• Miss Signs: Some sections might be off-limits for pets. Clearly, respect these areas. However, other than food service areas, I haven’t encountered much off-limits to dogs at the garden centres.

Dog-friendly Ontario Gardens Centres Open All Year:

The Watering Can Flower Market, Vineland

Location: 3725 King St. Vineland, Ontario

Yes, the Watering Can is very dog friendly – everywhere but the sit-down cafe serving the popular Watering Can high tea. The store is stocked with holiday gifts, baked goods, plants, and assorted planters including the Fur-friendly Planter filled with tropical plants safe for your pets including multi-stemmed orchids.

Rice Road Garden Centre, Welland

Location: 1361 Rice Rd. Welland

The Rice Road Garden Centre is very dog-friendly and sells cases of turkey, beef, lamb, and chicken raw dog food from a fridge onsite. However, you must clean up after your dog and avoid the greenhouse cats, Gerri and Kyle. You might also meet Penny, a young Newfoundland dog who lives on the property. The store is currently stocked with all the Christmas ornaments you can imagine, and of course, freshly-cut trees.

Bradford Greenhouses Garden Gallery, Barrie and Bradford

Location: 4346 Highway 90, Springwater, Barrie, Ontario.

Location: 3817 County Road 4, Bradford, Ontario.

Yes, both locations of Bradford Greenhouses Garden Gallery are pet-friendly during the holiday season. Well-behaved leashed pups on leash only, and their people who clean up after them (if necessary). The Garden Centre is stocked with all the Christmas plants you’d expect, as well as fully decorated trees, ornaments in all colours, free-standing decorations including polar bears, and stocked gift store.

Vandermeer Nursery, Ajax

Location: 588 Lakeridge Road South, Ajax, ON, Canada, Ontario

Yes, Vandermeer Nursery welcomes well-behaved dogs on-site. Christmas shop offers evergreen arrangements, poinsettias, Christmas cacti in various colours, and boughs. The Christmas open houses are on November 9, 16, and 23, 2024.

Black Forest Garden Centre, King City

Location: 15445 Keele Street, King City, Ontario

Yes, Black Forest Garden Centre welcomes pups on leash. The Garden Centre is only open until December 17, then closes until spring.

Holland Park Garden Centre, Dundas

Location: 294 York Road, Dundas, Ontario

Yes, Holland Park Garden Centre permits leashed dogs, and this might be our favourite nursery because it’s offering pup photos with Santa on December 8, 11 am to 1 pm. The garden centre is stocked with poinsettia, cyclamen, frosty fur, and boxed Grinch tree you have to see for yourself (or check out the website).

Sheridan Nurseries, various locations

Dogs are welcome at all seven Sheridan Nurseries if they are leashed and well-behaved. Note that the Etobicoke location is currently closed for renovations. Sheridan Nurseries started as a family-owned company in 1913 in what is now Oakville, Ontario. The Christmas Shop is currently open and is filled with fresh-cut trees, pre-lit trees, Christmas urn arrangements, boughs, lighting, and even plush toys called Jelly Cats.

Locations:

• Aurora Garden Centre, 15630 Bayview Ave, Aurora, Ontario
• Georgetown Garden Centre, Georgetown, 12266 Tenth Line, Georgetown, Ontario
• Kitchener Garden Centre, 100 Elmsdale Drive, Kitchener, Ontario
• Mississauga-Southdown Rd. Garden Centre, 606 Southdown Road, Mississauga, Ontario
• Scarborough Garden Centre, 1774 Ellesmere Road, Scarborough, Ontario
• Toronto Garden Centre, 2827 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario
• Whitby Garden Centre, 410 Taunton Road West, Whitby, Ontario

TERRA Greenhouses, various locations

Locations:

• TERRA Burlington, 2273 Halton Regional Road %., Burlington, Ontario
• TERRA Hamilton, 340 Highway 20 R.R. #1 Hamilton, Ontario
• TERRA Milton, 12800 Britannia Road, Milton, Ontario
• TERRA Vaughan, 11800 Keele Street, Vaughan, Ontario
• TERRA Waterdown, #8 Fifth Concession E., Waterdown, Ontario

Yes, TERRA Greenhouses are all pet dog-friendly, following the usual leash and behavior rules. We love visiting the Waterdown location (see above). TERRA Greenhouses garden centres year round offering seasonal plants (and pumpkins in October). The best part is that they partner with local vendors and are also a full gift store – decorations, home decor, gift box sets, and even seasonal clothing.

In Conclusion … Take your Dog to the Garden Centre!

Overall, garden centres everywhere that are open year-round are great places to spend your holiday shopping dollars because most are dog-friendly. Plus, many are family-owned businesses. We’ve verified all the ones listed here in Ontario as pet-friendly garden centres near you (maybe) and have visited several ourselves. Take your dog holiday shopping or buy plants for yourself. That’s what I’ll be doing this year.

Writer bio: Sherri Telenko has been a professional writer for decades and a travel writer for the last two. She’s a member of TMAC (Travel Media Association of Canada) and Dog Writers Association of America and travels almost weekly with her canine companion, Victoria. Contact Sherri at dogtrotting.net here. All written content is original, written by a person, and based on experience and research. Please subscribe!

If you know of a dog-friendly garden centre we missed, please let us know. If you know of a favorite near you (anywhere!), also let us know in the comments below so we can share with everyone.