Not too much. Not too little. Just right. Since 1981, the knowledgeable Maidstone Tree Farm staff have been insistent on finding the goldilocks zone: that unique balance of water, sunlight, and fertilizer that helps every type of plant and tree in their garden thrive. They begin by hand-selecting flora—20-foot maple trees, many-coloured hydrangeas—that flourish in Windsor-Essex County's soil and climate. Across their 15-acre garden, they arrange their plants based on how much sunlight the plants need, clustering Asiatic lilies in sun-dappled patches of soil, and huddling green, blue, and yellow hostas in the cool shade. Then, they fine-tune their drip-irrigation system to quench the thirst of the trees, shrubs, and perennials without over-watering them. The great pains taken by the green thumbs at Maidstone Tree Farm result in plants that leave the garden centre at the pinnacle of health, ready for rearing and teaching multi-branch high fives.