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Celebrating 91 Years
Islington Nurseries held a birthday party for Lena Badali, the founder of the popular nursery, on Friday, February 12th. Mrs. Bedali celebrated her 91st birthday at the garden centre with
a delicious luncheon and surrounded by family, friends and loyal customers. This fantastic
lady arrived from Italy at the tender age of
16 along with her handsome husband, who
was 24 at the time. The young couple started
their career at a fruit store in downtown
Toronto but shortly after decided to move
to The Kingsway to try life in the “country.”
They opened up Islington Nurseries, and 60
years later the business is still thriving. In
the early days, Mrs. Badali used to cook for
everyone, feeding them delicious Italian
food when they came to the store. Her
husband sadly passed away when she was
still a young woman with young kids, and
so this strong lady was tasked with not only
raising her family but also running a demanding
business as well. To this day, Mrs. Bedali
still comes into the store several times a
week to visit with the staff (some are family) and to provide helpful advice.
