Walters Gardens, Inc (Licensee)

From Left: Ryan Hop (COO), John Walters (CEO), Christa Steenwyk (VP of Marketing & Industry Relations), Karin Walters (VP of Product Strategy)

The Walters Gardens, Inc. story began in 1942 when Dennis Walters and his new bride, Harriet, took over the family perennial business from Dena Knoll, Harriet's mother.  With the help of his four brothers, Dennis expanded the company to include bare root, potted, and packaged perennials, and built one of the industry's first tissue culture labs at Walters Gardens, Inc. in the mid 1970s.

Today, the company is run by the second generation of Walters aided by numerous other family members and dedicated employees including plant health experts, skilled horticulturists, capable customer service and marketing staff, and a pool of sales representatives and brokers nationwide.  Our company has grown from a small farm of less than five acres worked by just a few men to a multimillion dollar corporation with over 200 employees, 1,500 acres of land, and 500,000 square feet of greenhouse space.  Over 15 million perennial liners are shipped annually to independent garden centers, wholesale growers, landscapers, and municipalities across the US and Canada.  Each year, approximately 100 new items are added to our catalog of over 1,000 bare root and Elle Plug perennial liners. 

To help our customers be successful, Walters Gardens, Inc. is making tremendous progress in modernizing growing technologies, testing for viruses to ensure clean product, hybridizing new varieties, and expanding our marketing program.  We understand the tremendous importance of offering superior product value, reliable service, and marketing tools for our customers.  In the past decade, Walters Gardens, Inc. has also made great strides towards sustainable perennial production.  For example,  a biomass burner supplements our heating system in winter, energy saving curtains are used in our greenhouses, liners are grown in biodegradable Elle Plugs, and a quarter million pounds of paper, plastic, and metal are recycled annually.  

Proven Winners partnership with Walters Gardens started in 2011 and is continually growing.