January marked more than just the start of a new year for West Canyon Nurseries and Dwyer Greens and Flowers —  it signaled the beginning of a blossoming partnership between the families behind both businesses. 

West Canyon Nurseries was founded in 2018 by Ray and Kim Shorette, their daughter Amy Anglemyer and her husband, Derek. The family launched the wholesale and retail nursery in New Castle at the historic West Canyon Tree Farm property with hopes of bringing it back to life. At the time, the nursery focused on shrubs, perennials and container trees. 

That year, Brett Folske purchased Dwyer Greens and Flowers, a well-established business that had been part of the Garfield County community for nearly two decades.

In 2019, Folske visited West Canyon Nurseries in search of a fruit tree. That visit sparked a friendship between the families, who bonded over shared experiences of balancing family life with business ownership.

“We were in a similar space of the landscape world without actually much crossover, as they were doing mostly trees and shrubs and we were doing mostly annuals and flowers,” Folske said. “As we were looking to grow Dwyers to the size that we might cross paths more and have a similar customer base, Amy had the great idea to collaborate rather than compete.”

The merger became official in January. Now operating under the name West Canyon Nurseries, Folske, Amy and Derek operate the retail space at the original West Canyon Tree Farm location in New Castle. 

As part of the expansion, West Canyon Nurseries will also grow its operations at the former Rocky Mountain Native Nursery property in Rifle. The 20-acre site will be used  to cultivate more plants, including pumpkins for the fall season. 

The partnership allowed both businesses to grow in ways they couldn’t have individually and “rather than working very hard separately, we built a team,” Amy said. 

Now, the newly-formed West Canyon Nurseries is preparing to host its first annual Fall Festival on Oct.11, 12, 18 and 19. 

“Last fall, I was looking for what to do with my young family, and we, like so many, went to Grand Junction to the pumpkin patch and it was great. It was an awesome time,” Folske said. “I saw three people from this valley with young families, all making an hour plus drive — that signaled to me that the demand is there.”

The festival will feature a hay ride, pumpkin patch, slides and family-friendly games like pumpkin bowling and a scavenger hunt. Food trucks will be on-site and pumpkins grown by West Canyon and other local growers will be available for purchase. 

“So much of our lives are focused around our kids and to have a place where friends can come and gather with their kids — it’s going to be fun,” Folske said. 

West Canyon Nurseries plans to host additional community events throughout the year, including family movie nights, gardening clinics and plein air art gatherings. 

“I grew up in a small town. (Amy) grew up in a small town and (Folske) did too,” Derek said.
“As a business owner, anytime that you can participate in that small town, we just do it. It’s like a sense of pride — I’m able to give back because I’m in a position to give back.”