Three generations of the Stopper family have grown Maria Gardens from a backyard greenhouse begun around 1970 into a family-owned garden center and grower serving the greater Cleveland area. With locations in Strongsville and North Royalton, the company grows its own plants and also provides landscaping services and landscape materials, carrying its long-standing wholesale roots into today’s retail operation. The business is now run by brothers Tim Jr., Mitch, and Tom with guidance from their father, Tim Sr.
Donald A. Schuster GreenhouseSince Donald Schuster opened his Elyria greenhouse in 1964, Donald A. Schuster Greenhouse has grown bedding plants and other garden plants for local customers and wholesale buyers. Now run by the founder’s sons Ed, Steve, and Chuck, the third-generation family-owned greenhouse grows most of its retail plants on site and turns to pumpkins and seasonal farm activities in the fall. Its wholesale plants reach garden centers and gardens throughout Northeast Ohio, continuing a family growing tradition that began on the Murray Ridge Road property in 1927.ELYRIA, OH
Rusty Oak NurseryFamily-owned and operated in Valley City, Ohio, Rusty Oak Nursery grows wholesale nursery stock on a 300-acre campus for landscape professionals and other trade customers. Founded by Karen and Mario Cekada more than 50 years ago, the business has grown from a weekend tree-selling venture into a year-round operation with 25 hoop houses, a 15-acre holding yard, and a team of about 40 employees. Its own delivery fleet and custom-growing capacity support large, coordinated plant orders from one nursery.VALLEY CITY, OH
Scheiderer FarmsOn the same Marysville farm worked by four generations of the Scheiderer family, Scheiderer Farms grows flowering plants and runs a family-owned garden center. Keith and Candi Scheiderer opened the greenhouse 27 years ago, and the business is best known for its carefully grown hanging baskets, including its exclusive Basket Bud collection. The farm remains a working family operation, with relatives growing field crops and raising cattle alongside the greenhouse.MARYSVILLE, OH
Natorp’s NurseryWith more than 100 years of growing and design expertise, family-owned Natorp’s Nursery grows and sells plants while creating and installing landscapes for Greater Cincinnati. Its Mason nursery spans 333 acres and includes an online plant store featuring about one million plants, backed by local horticultural advice and a one-year guarantee on properly cared-for plants.CINCINNATI, OH