Dave Hart - President and Owner. Dave received his associate’s degree from the University of Connecticut in 1978. Upon graduation from the University of Connecticut he worked at the Plant & Soil Research Facility at the University and quickly climbed to Farm Manager. He and Joyce founded Hart's Greenhouse and Florist in 1986. In 1988 Dave left the research farm to pursue his entrepreneurial interests full time. He received the Outstanding Young Farmers Award for Windham County in 1993 and 1994. In 1995 he was recognized as the Outstanding Young Farmer for all of Connecticut. This award culminated in a trip to California to the national Outstanding Young Farmer Conference.

Joyce Hart - Vice President and Co-owner. Joyce received her bachelor's degree from the University of Connecticut in 1982 and founded Hart's Greenhouse and Florist in 1986. Joyce is responsible for starting the first Florist Shop in Canterbury. The florist shop has recently been featured in Florists’ Review Magazine. She is responsible for selecting the plant varieties that will be grown each year and is also the gift buyer for the gift shop. In 2007 Joyce was chair-woman of Norwich in Bloom, where she helped organize beautification efforts and got Norwich nationally recognized by America in Bloom judges for heritage preservation.

Jessica Hart – Floral Designer / Store Manager. Jessica is the second generation here at Hart’s Greenhouse & Florist. She is a top-notch floral designer, excelling in funeral, everyday, wedding and party designs. Jess graduated from Woodstock Academy in 2001, and has recently graduated from the University of Connecticut College of Agriculture with a Bachelor’s Degree in Horticulture. She was awarded the Babbidge Scholar Award at graduation for a 4.0 grade point average. She is the floral designer and store manager of our Norwich store, and has been nominated by industry professionals as young retailer of the year.

Christopher Hart – Greenhouse & Technical Support. Chris is also part of the second generation at Hart's Greenhouse & Florist. Chris graduated from Woodstock Academy in 2001, and has recently graduated from the University of Connecticut with a  Bachelor’s Degree in Horticulture. He has won numerous awards and scholarships. Chris is in charge of Production & Distribution, operating out of our Bennett Pond Road Growing Facility. In 2007 Chris was nominated and recognized by industry professionals as one of the top five young growers in the country.

Laura Klitzke - Laura hails from New York and has worked at our Canterbury & Norwich stores full time since 2005. She is a very friendly and helpful sales associate, and is an expert on indoor houseplants. Stop in and say hello to her. Laura loves dogs! She and her husband Ken live in Griswold with their adorable miniature daschund, Max.

Kristin Deschamps - Kristin has been working at Hart's Greenhouse & Florist since 2008. She lives in Sterling with her husband Chad and her dog Jett, a min-pin. She works at our Canterbury store and is a fast learner. She can help you with your plant questions in a flash!

Linda Johnson - Linda has been working in the office and helping out in the Canterbury store since 2007. She plants beautiful container gardens full of flowers every summer. She is an animal lover and lives in Canterbury with her husband Bill, their 5 children, and assorted pets (including chickens). Her son Ole works here at Hart's Greenhouse & Florist LLC too!

Spock - Spock the cat is one of two brother cats who adopted our Canterbury Store as their home in 1997. Named because of his unusually large ears as a kitten, Spock can be found lounging in a sunny spot, relaxing on a bale of straw, or begging for a treat in the office. He's more shy than his brother and tends to hang out where he's not in the way.

Sundae - Sundae is the second of the two brother cats in our Canterbury store. Named for his Vanilla belly, Chocolate Syrup back, and Cherry nose, he can usually be found hamming around the register or wherever he can find some catnip. Sundae is the unofficial greeter and protector of the store. He helps out at the register and controls any mice or other intruders.

Cherie Sears - Cherie has been working at Hart's Greenhouse & Florist since 2002, and is the manager of the Brooklyn store. She and her husband just celebrated the arrival of their son Tyler. She lives in Central Village, and also has poodles named Nala and Jewels. Cherie is a hard worker, always giving her 110% with the friendliest “Hi! How are you?” greeting in the world.

Keri Dallas - Keri has worked our Canterbury and Brooklyn stores since 2007. She recently graduated from the University of Connecticut, where she majored in Animal Science. In her spare time she enjoys traveling and riding her horse named Chip.

Monique Letson - Monique has been working part-time in our Brooklyn store since 2005. Monique lives in Hampton with her husband and has 5 wonderful children. She's an avid traveler and loves to garden in her spare time.

Alma St. Cyr - Alma is a transplant from Wyoming and has been working at our Norwich store since 2006. She is an avid gardener and is excellent with landscape plants, perennials, and annuals. She lives in Norwich with her husband and children. Alma recently passed the very rigorous Connecticut Nurseryman’s Exam and is a Connecticut Accredited Nursery Professional. Her garden was also featured in the Chelsea Gardens "Weekend in Bloom" 2009 garden tour. Good Job Alma!

Julie Chase - Julie is originally from Ohio and has worked at the Norwich store since 2009. She studied Fine Arts at Quinebaug Valley Community College, and loves music. She lives in Norwich with her cat, Broun.

 

Chad Goyette - Chad is a tropical plant expert! Prior to joining our team in 2009, Chad worked for Logee's Greenhouses and ran his own business that specialized in palm trees and other tropical plants. He lives in Dayville and is always on the lookout for new and exotic plants.

 

Jen Kane - Jen started at the Canterbury store in 2009 and now helps out at Norwich and Tri-Town. Her passion is vegetable gardening, and particularly experimenting with cold frames to grow plants beyond the summer season. She has a bachelor's degree in creative writing and lives in Griswold with her husband Kevin.

 

Audrey Crider - Audrey began working at Hart's in 2003 as a seasonal retail helper. After graduating from the University of Connecticut in 2005, she joined the staff full time in our new Norwich store. From there, she has become a customer service associate for our rapidly expanding wholesale division. She lives in Canterbury with her two cats and a lizard.

Dennis Colón - Dennis has been working at our growing facility in Canterbury every spring since 2002. Over the years he has done an excellent job learning our products and day-to-day protocols. He helps out with planting, watering, order pulling, and general maintenance. During the winter, Dennis lives in sunny Puerto Rico.

Bill Palmer - Bill started at Hart's in the early 1990s and then went on to run his own vegetable production & farmer's market business, which he still runs today. He recently returned to Hart's and works at the Growing Facility in Canterbury. His duties include watering, plant & equipment maintenance, and numerous other day-to-day activities. He is truly a jack of all trades. He lives in Mansfield.