Sienna Flora
Sienna Flora is a business that was born through the owner's passion for horticulture and plant design.
Owner Anita Cane worked as a hair and makeup artist in the TV industry for 15 years, but on her spare time she loved taking care of plants in her home and gardening.
In 2013, she was gifted a fig tree and unfortunately it died, when she started reading up on how she could save it, Cane says she became enthralled with researching about how to save dead plants.
Being hungry for more knowledge about plants in general, she left the TV industry and decided to study Horticulture at Humber College. From there, Cane fell in love with the science of plants, saying that opening her own shop became her ultimate goal.
After school, Cane worked doing some interior plantscaping work for friends, meaning she would coordinate rooms inside of a home with plants that would match the aesthetic and design of each specific room.
Cane is the first women in her family to have her own business, she opened up Sienna Flora, named after her daughter and mom, in July 2021.
Even just walking by Sienna Flora's shop, you can't help but to slow down and look inside, the interior literally looks and feels like you're inside of a jungle.
Rows of plants, varying in size and shape are stacked around the shop, but not in a overwhelming way, there's still lots of space to walk around, and take in all that fresh plant air.
Every plant inside of Sienna Flora looks like it was brought into the store the same day. This is probably because Cane spends two hours each day, watering, pulling off dead leaves and checking for pests, to maintain healthy looking plants.
The Ficus Elastica Tineke ($255.00), otherwise known as a rubber plant, gives off a tropical feel to any room. This plant comes in a light green shade as shown here, and is also offered in a smaller plant form in a burgundy shade ($215) and light pink colour called Ruby ($85.00).
The Tineke needs bright, indirect light and will thrive best in a warm sunny spot, so avoid putting this one near any air conditioner vents.
The Pothos Marble Queen ($24.00) is the perfect plant for someone who lives in a basement apartment with a small window, as it will survive in medium in-direct light.
The Pothos has the ability to remove toxins from the air and grows outwardly, trailing many feet from its pot. This plant comes in other shades as well, including neon green, a lighter, more yellow golden, and a jade green colour.
One of Sienna's best sellers is the Cartoon Cactus ($33.00), it gets its name because it resembles a cactus you might see in an episode of the Looney Tunes.
This is a good option if you don't want to spend too much time on your plants, they're very low maintenance, only needing water once every three weeks. This is also a child-friendly plant, as the spikes remain tucked inside the pads and don't poke out like regular cacti.
The Birds of Paradise ($200.00) resembles something you might see growing near a beach, it's more expensive due to the fact that it can grow up to 10 feet in a matter of a few years.
The plant's, wide, paddle shaped leaves can add a lush look to an otherwise, simple living room space. This one needs lots of bright, in-direct light to survive, but make sure to move it around once in a while, as too much sun may cause leaves to curl up.
Sienna Flora is a one-stop plant shop, it's different from other plant stores in the area, like R & C Fruit and Flower, because you don't have to stop at Home Depot or another place to get sprays, soil or pots, they're all found in-store at Sienna.
If you're not too well versed in the plant world, Cane has a gift of helping you pick the right plant for the correct space in your home and offers you tips on how to best maintain it.
Even though Sienna Flora specializes in tropical plants, the shop can be found open all-year round, the only difference is all the plants lining the outside of the shop are brought inside to be taken care of when the cold weather hits.
Fareen Karim