Words Jo Barnes
Photos Sarah Hartley Photography
In 1945, the Dutch Royal Family sent Canada 100,000 tulip bulbs as gratitude for sheltering Princess Juliana and her children during the war. This began an international friendship between the Netherlands and Canada.
Tulips have a long history and association with the Dutch, and this floral heritage continues on at Saanich’s Double Dutch Farm.
Owned by Sue Bouma and Will Rozendal, the farm off Durrance Road is a place where livestock thrive, fruit trees flourish, and over 1,000 tulips graced the property this spring, a reminder of the family’s Dutch heritage. “Our farm is called Double Dutch. My father emigrated to Canada as a teenager from Holland and Will’s parents also emigrated from Holland,” shares Sue. “We appreciate this part of our heritage. We married on the farm in 2019 and planted 300 tulip bulbs then. This year we planted 1,000 tulips.”
They operate Double Dutch as a hobby farm, which is no small feat as they both have full-time jobs and the farm property spans over 17 acres. “I am a pharmacist and I work for the Ministry of Health. My husband Will has a transport company,” says Sue. “It has always been in a state of growth here. Time and money are the challenges.”
While vegetables, fruit and flowers are grown for sale and for personal use, the mainstays for the farm are beef sales, eggs and orchard hay. “Our beef sales allow us to be a self-sustaining farm,” shares Sue. “We offer delicious grass, grain and veggie-fed beef.”
A number of mature fruit trees were already on the property when the couple first purchased it, and other crops have been added. “We get a large amount of fruit each year including a large volume of cherries,” relates Sue. “We have a variety of apple, Italian prune plum, pear, figs, cherries, blueberries and raspberries. I’ve made different types of cider for both our personal use and also as gifts.”
This year Sue hopes to add flowers to the farm offerings. Currently growing on the property are delphinium, lavender, carnation, lupin, iris, gladiola, hydrangea, sunflowers, ranunculus, and of course, tulips.
The farm approach is to be as organic as possible including no-till techniques, natural composting and organic pest control. “Weeds are always challenging as are insects. It is trial and error. We bought a lot of ladybugs to deal with aphids on the prune plums. Our free-range Muscovy ducks eat a lot of insects, snails and slugs.”
Growing and harvesting produce as well raising cows, ducks, chickens and Nigerian dwarf goats has had its challenges. “At first, we couldn’t find a vet nearby. We now have access to a vet who handles large animal care and who is able to do house calls,” relates Sue. “I think we need more vets like this on the South Island to help ease the load for small-scale farm owners.”
In addition, renovations and land management of this large-scale property has involved time and planning. The couple bought it in 2016 and initially focused on the residence. “When we first moved here, we liked the location where the house was and kept this. We renovated the home and designed it from the ground up. We have put love and attention into it and appreciate our friends who have helped us.”
The original house was a 1930’s vintage structure, a style that Sue and Will wanted to maintain. “We re-used a lot of the old wood. For example, we repurposed wood for the railings on the deck,” notes Sue. “We have also kept old windows for greenhouses that we are planning to build”.
The farm property is an attractive sprawling acreage with potential. Double Dutch has been home to a few wedding celebrations over the years. “We can do up to 10 events each year,” comments Sue. “It is so tranquil, and there is lots of space for walking and wandering.”
Despite and maybe because of all the challenges, the farm remains a source of enjoyment and rewards for this farming duo. “It is not work; it is enjoyable. Sharing this experience with others has its own rewards. I really like seeing the joy on people’s faces when they are responding to the quality of food that we offer. They’ll send us an email or tag us on Facebook,” says Will.
Sue adds: “It is important for us to feel confident and have the ability to grow food for ourselves and share this with our kids. We’ve come to appreciate all of this.”
While the farm tasks of feeding livestock, tending produce and maintaining structures may seem endless, for this couple, it’s a perfect lifestyle choice and they wouldn’t change it for anything. “It all brings me back to my childhood and growing up on the farm,” shares Will. “It means coming home.”
At Double Dutch farm, the name reflects that family heritage and is on the gate, the mailbox, and is represented by a field of tulips.
