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In 1938, Leendert Van Staalduinen left Holland with his wife,
Cornelia, and their 10 children. Originally destined for the small
Dutch enclave of Eastern North Carolina known as Terra Ceia, the
family ended up spending 5 years in Hamilton, Ontario Canada because
of war-time immigration policies. Finally, the paperwork was in
order for moving to the States, and in 1943, the family arrived in
Pantego. It was here they would establish The Terra Ceia Farm to
grow cut flowers.
As was typical at that time, growers would import fresh bulbs to
plant in the Fall and harvest flowers from in the Spring. Leendert
realized that there was opportunity for selling bulbs as well as
their bounty and in 1950 he started a mail-order business as a
sideline. When he was injured in a farm accident in 1960 and unable
to do much work, he devoted himself entirely to this aspect of his
business.
To make a long story short, through much blessing and hard work, the
business grew and has now been passed to the third generation (or
'first generation American' as the elder Van Staalduinen was fond of
saying). During this time the farm has diversified by adding row
crops and field-grown nursery production - currently 1250 acres
devoted to row crops and 250 acres for the cut flowers and nursery.
Thanks to many loyal customers, the mail-order has become a
consistent avenue for getting our products into the garden. While we
remain firmly 'grounded' in our past, we have much faith for the
future and look forward to the opportunity to serve your flowerbulb
and plant needs.
Sincerely,
Carl Van Staalduinen
Read more about our History... |
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Circa 1926
Leendert & Martin Van Staalduinen
Greenhouse- S'Gravenzande Holland
Circa
1943
Terra Ceia Farm
Gladiolus Field
Circa 1963
Terra Ceia Tulip Festival
Tulip Field - Terra Ceia
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Circa 1900
Leonard Van Staalduinen
Tulip Field- Hoek van Holland
The Present
2001 "Ridging Up"
Peony Field
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