I’m Eddie DeJong and I’m the CDI (Chief Dreamer and Inventor) at Vita Gardens.  I’ll be honest – I get bored quickly. This makes my position at Vita Gardens absolutely perfect. I get to invent products, to connect with our customers, research brilliant new gardening techniques and spend my boss’s money.

Many call me a Renaissance Man – because I love a lot of artsy things. I am a self-taught musician and play a variety of musical instruments: electric and acoustic guitar, some drums, harmonica, bass guitar, and an ancient Australian instrument called the Didgeridoo. I’ve actually signed a few autographs and have been in the recording studio before. I also used to run a free music school called ‘Eddie’s School of Rock’ where I spent time with kids wanting to play in a band teaching them things like timing, dynamics and working together.

I’m a natural born designer and a marketer. I’ve designed and brought to market some really cool things in my lifetime. This includes high-end outdoor patios, kid’s playground equipment, fine leather bags, and luxury cigar humidors for companies like Hennessy Cognac and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In my spare time I stand-up paddle board on Lake Huron. I love to work with leather and wood and enjoy things like fine hand rolled cigars and pipes. I’m a huge football fan and I also love to garden, cook, BBQ and smoke food. My love of cooking has brought a true love of gardening as I love to use my own home grown vegetables and herbs – and ones from our prototyping yard.

Gardening is in my blood – my Grandfather was a professional gardener when he immigrated to Canada from Europe working in a greenhouse for years. Because of my busy lifestyle, I am very interested in unique ways to make gardening easy for people including myself.

I also love old classic vehicles and am currently completing a body-off restoration of an old 1954 British Land Rover.

My wife and I love to travel, hike, and sample craft beers and wine. I have a daughter in University taking International Studies, and a son in high school that will likely be a welder or some kind of a trade working with his hands.

I only have 2 children, but we have 5 other kids who live in Africa that we support each month. Africa has been close to our hearts for many years and we’re proud that through products we create at Vita we can help local communities where our extended kids live and grow.