The Bordine’s Farm

The Bordine’s Farm in Grand Blanc has seen incredible growth over the last decade. The 100 acre site is where we grow the majority of our high quality plants. Retail is open April – October. A few Bordine’s Farm facts you may not have known…

Bordine's Grown from our farm

  • There’s more than 1 million square feet of greenhouse growing space!
  • Some of our greenhouses are highly specialized, allowing the grower to control the smallest of details to optimize growth. The advanced technology includes humidity controls, computer controlled supplemental lighting, reverse osmosis water purification and automatic fertilizer injectors.
  • We propagate more than 15 million seedlings a year.
  • We grow about 95% of our own annuals and perennials.
  • A little over 15 acres is used for outdoor growing.
  • We grow 60% of our own trees and shrubs.
  • We employ about 275 people at the peak of our season.

Bordine’s Green Initiatives

Bordine’s has been taking green initiatives for decades. For example, google “Darrell Bordine patent” and you will see that in 1977 our founder applied for a patent for his water recycling greenhouse bench. This patent was granted in 1978. Some of the original concrete benches this system used are still in the Rochester Hills Greenhouse. With that kind of thinking it is no wonder that Bordine’s is Michigan’s best place to buy plants… and the best, just got better.

2008 marked the greatest environmental change in our company’s history. The installation of a biomass boiler at our Grand Blanc growing facility will decrease our heating systems reliance on fossil fuels by over 60%! Since then we have added a 200,000 gallon hot water silo that holds hot water to increase the efficiency of our heating system and a 10 million gallon pond to collect runoff water for reuse.

The United Nations, with the Kyoto protocol, has determined that green energy is one of the most important changes needed throughout the world to help save our planet. Biomass is today generally regarded as the main renewable energy source of the future: CO2 neutral and almost inexhaustible.

Bordine's Biomass Boiler Bordine's Hot Water Storage Silo Bordine's - Wood Chip Fuel Bordine's storefront

Bordine Heating System

The Biomass Boiler

  • Size: 3 MegaWatt/306BHP or 10,240,000 BTUs per hour
  • Brand: Vyncke hot water with dynamic water-cooled stepgrater
  • Water temp: between 158 F and 248 F.

Hot Water Storage Silo

  • Size: 200,000 gallons

Wood Chip Fuel (from local Michigan sources)

  • Renewable, sustainable and local
  • Walking floor indoor storage facility

Click Here To Read The Flint Journal Article about our Green Initiatives

Other Green Initiatives

Flood Floor Range

  • Helps conserve water and fertilizer
  • 110,000 ft. of plants
  • 100% water recycling
  • Four 10,000 gallon cisterns hold the water
  • Water is filtered and reused
  • Computerized fertilizer injector only adds fertilizer after water has been tested. The result is always a 100% use of fertilizer with zero waste.

Heat Retention Curtains

  • An energy curtain saves an average of 35% in heating costs every year
  • By providing shade, they reduce the need for exhaust fans thus lowering electricity costs.

Automated Watering Booms

  • Help conserve water
  • Our watering booms have the ability to be programmed for specific plant needs, they only water or fertilize specific plants that require the inputs, skipping over plants that don’t. Also, the water is delivered to the plants just inches above them, resulting in less water being lost to evaporation.

10 Million Gallon Retention Pond

  • Recycles water
  • The majority of our growing facility is engineered to capture rain water in the pond.
  • Water is pumped from the pond to grow our trees, shrubs, roses and small fruits.
  • All of the runoff from the growing areas drains back to the pond to be reused again.

Reusable Plug Trays

  • After the investment of a sterilizing machine and reusable trays, our plastic use has been greatly reduced. Some of the plug trays are used
    3 times a year!