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Our Story

English Gardens Beginnings

English Gardens was founded in Dearborn Heights in 1954 by three brothers-in-law; John Darin, Andrew Donatiello, and Henry Vespa. They acquired English Gardens, which had one store on Ford Road and Outer Drive in Dearborn Heights, and were initially open nine months of the year.

The English Gardens stores gave the brothers-in-law a way to provide for their families. The three worked side-by-side growing the business and creating a reputation for selling quality products at a great value.

In 1968, they purchased the flower shop next door, adding a full-service floral department to what had become a year-round store. In the 1970s, they also began selling Christmas merchandise, including life-like and fresh-cut Christmas trees, lights, and decorations.

The original English Gardens store on Ford Road and Outer Drive is still open today and spans two blocks along Ford Road. Growth over the years has been steady. The founders followed a conservative approach to expansion, by listening to customers and the marketplace.

One of the founders, Mr. Donatiello retired from English Gardens in 1970. Mr. Vespa passed away in 1990. Mr. Darin passed away in early 2018.

In 1980, the brothers-in-law opened their second store in West Bloomfield, constructing a garden center with a greenhouse along the building’s front. The location was selected based on the number of floral orders and deliveries coming from the area. By this time many of their children were working in the company.

In 1985, a separate corporate office building opened in Dearborn Heights, along with a state-of-the-art floral design center which allowed us to centralize many of our operations.

Plans for the third store began the following year. The Clinton Twp. store opened in 1987 on a 5-acre site. The store was built before much of the surrounding retail was developed. Today, nearly every retailer in the Metro Detroit area has a store along the M-59 corridor, representing both high end and discount offerings. That store expanded in 2005, when a 20,000-square-foot enclosed greenhouse structure was added to the building.

In 1988, English Gardens opened our full-service landscape company offering professional design and installation services. During the fourth quarter, the landscape company provides interior and exterior holiday decorating services. Holiday lighting clients include The Mall at Partridge Creek, The Village of Rochester Hills and the City of Royal Oak.

Our fourth store opened in 1994 in Eastpointe. English Gardens transformed a former Frank’s Nursery & Crafts store into one of the area’s premier garden centers and is designed to accommodate our seasonal product offerings. The front of the store features four glass greenhouses, which have 15 roll-up doors that can be opened during the spring and summer, providing customers with an outdoor shopping experience.

We built our fifth store on a five-acre site in Royal Oak. The store was fashioned after the garden centers in Europe and features a 40-foot clock tower at the entrance. The all glass structure is highlighted with soaring 25-foot tall greenhouse atrium in center of store.

In 2019, English Gardens acquired Plymouth Nursery and opened our sixth store with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony with prominent local dignitaries and English Gardens executives. The store sits on a 19-acre site at the corner of Ann Arbor Road and Gotfredson Road. The store features a 12,000-square-foot retail space and 12,000-square-foot enclosed greenhouse. The outdoor selling space is approximately nine acres.

English Gardens Today

As the one-stop place for gardening tools, fertilizers and supplies, indoor and outdoor plants, flowers and landscape design, patio furniture and accessories, English Gardens is the “category killer” of lawn and garden.

Special Services

Special services include a Garden Pharmacy, where associates diagnose plant troubles and provide solutions; as well as a Patio Furniture Design Center for custom orders. The Outdoor Living Department includes patio furniture and accessories, and garden décor, such as fountains, statues, accessories and garden art. All stores, except Eastpointe and Plymouth, operate full-service floral departments providing custom-designed fresh and silk arrangements for events and all occasions, as well as a beautiful selection of fresh-cut flowers and greens with fresh shipments daily.

Our Workforce

English Gardens employs more than 200 full-time people and 400 or more on a seasonal basis. Spring and Christmas are the busiest seasons. Mother’s Day and Christmas are peak holidays.

Industry Recognition

English Gardens has received recognition from numerous industry organizations throughout our history. In 2017, we were named member of the year by the Michigan Green Industry Association in 2017. In 2015, we were selected as the National IGC Retailer of the Year by IGC Magazine for notable leadership and innovation in the independent garden center industry. The award was established in memory of Dick Morey, founder of IGC Magazine and an advocate for the independent garden center sector. In 2003, English Gardens was named Retailer of the Year by the Michigan Floral Association.

We are consistently voted THE BEST by readers of Hour magazine and The Detroit News.

Family Owned

Nine of the company’s 13 shareholders, who are the children and in-laws of Mr. Darin and Mr. Vespa, work in the company. They include:

  • John Darin, President (Son of John & Phyllis Darin)
  • Debbie Lowman, Chief Information Officer (Daughter of John & Phyllis Darin)
  • Dean Darin, Vice President, Retail Operations and Merchandising Manager (Son of John & Phyllis Darin)
  • Judy Darin, a sales associate in Dearborn Heights florist (Dean’s wife, daughter-in-law of John & Phyllis Darin)
  • Bob Walker, Business to Business Development Manager (Lynette’s husband, son-in-law of John & Phyllis Darin)
  • Kevin Lowman, Special Projects Manager (Debbie’s husband, son-in-law of John & Phyllis Darin)
  • Frank Janosz, Vice President, Purchasing Live Goods (Son-in-law of the late Henry & the late Marie Vespa)
  • Linda Vespa Yugovich, Vice President/Buyer (Daughter of the late Henry & the late Marie Vespa)
  • Rick Vespa, Vice President, Purchasing Hard Goods, and President, English Gardens Landscape Company (Son of the late Henry & the late Marie Vespa)

We also have four members of the 3rd generation working in the company. Learn more about what it was like Growing Up at English Gardens

Interested in joining our team? Learn more about the available positions and apply online. 
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English Garden Nurseries & Garden Centers Serve the Greater Clinton Twp., Dearborn Heights, Royal Oak, West Bloomfield, Eastpointe, and Plymouth Ann Arbor Michigan Areas

Providing garden centers complete with full service landscaping, seasonal holiday stores including their enchanting Christmas Stores, and most locations even offer a full service in house florist

English Gardens Detroit MI area nurseries & garden centers are not only the areas largest garden nurseries, but they offer the largest selection of products and services found anywhere in the Clinton Twp., Dearborn Heights, Royal Oak, West Bloomfield, Eastpointe, and Plymouth Ann Arbor Michigan regions providing full service garden centers, full service landscaping and landscape design, seasonal holiday stores including their enchanting Christmas Stores, the largest selection of Patio Furniture in Michigan, and most locations even offer a full service in house florist for flower arrangements for every day as well as those special occasions such as wedding flowers, event flowers, sympathy and funeral flower arrangements, prom flowers, and more!

Our nurseries and garden centers have the areas largest selection of plants, flowers, shrubs, annuals, perennials, and patio furniture. Garden supplies are in abundance, with everything from garden tools and accessories, to garden and potting soil, mulches, bagged garden stone, pots and so much more. We have everything you need for your outdoor gardening needs.

Landscaping? Count on the professional landscape contractors and designers at English Gardens to Make Your Property Beautiful! We offer both DIY landscaping assistance and full service landscape design and construction with our in house landscaping company.

Our floral designers can create perfect floral arrangements for weddings, events, funerals, proms and the like. Make the moment beautiful.

Our Christmas Stores in addition to being one of the areas best holiday experiences, are filled with live and life-like artificial Christmas trees, including flocked artificial Christmas trees, and those sometimes hard to come by 9 foot flocked artificial Christmas trees, as well as a large, ready to take home inventory, of 3 foot artificial Christmas trees, 4 foot artificial Christmas trees, 5 foot artificial Christmas trees, 7.5 foot artificial Christmas trees, 9 foot artificial Christmas trees and 12 foot artificial Christmas trees, and all of the other holiday items you need like Christmas lights, decorations, Christmas wreaths & garland of all types, and unique gifts. Make the Holiday beautiful!

English Gardens store by store offerings in the Clinton Twp., Dearborn Heights, Royal Oak, West Bloomfield, Eastpointe, and Plymouth Ann Arbor Michigan areas;

Clinton Twp. Garden Centers:

Dearborn Heights Garden Center:

Royal Oak Garden Center:

West Bloomfield Garden Center:

Eastpointe Garden Center:

Plymouth Ann Arbor Garden Center:

Be sure to visit any one of our Garden Centers for the largest selection of products and services the area has to offer. If you have any questions please call one of our stores directly in Clinton Twp., Dearborn Heights, Royal Oak, West Bloomfield, Eastpointe, and Plymouth Ann Arbor Michigan for friendly, prompt help.

Clinton Township, MI

Address
44850 Garfield Rd. at Hall Rd.
Clinton Twp., Michigan 48038

Phone Numbers
Phone: (586) 286-6100
Fax: (586) 286-0033

Dearborn Heights, MI

Address
22650 Ford Rd. at Outer Dr.
Dearborn Heights, Michigan 48127

Phone Numbers
Nursery: (313) 278-4433
Florist: (313) 565-8133
Fax: (313) 278-0459

Eastpointe, MI

Address
22501 Kelly Rd. at Nine Mile Rd.
Eastpointe, Michigan

Phone Numbers
Phone: (586) 771-4200
Fax: (586) 771-4894

Plymouth/Ann Arbor, MI

Address
9900 Ann Arbor Road W.
Plymouth, Michigan

Phone Numbers
Phone: (734) 453-5500

Royal Oak, MI

Address
4901 Coolidge Hwy,
Royal Oak, Michigan

Phone Numbers
Phone: (248) 280-9500
Fax: (248) 280-2688

West Bloomfield, MI

Address
6370 Orchard Lake Rd. at Maple
West Bloomfield Township, Michigan

Phone Numbers
Phone: (248) 851-7506
Fax: (248) 539-4738

Patio Furniture from English Gardens of Michigan

Patio Lounge Chairs
Patio Furniture Showrooms
Bistro Sets
Outdoor Dining Sets
Outdoor Sectionals

Make Life Beautiful! Come to English Gardens Today!

Don’t forget to come visit our enchanted Christmas Stores! We have by far the areas largest display of pre-lit and unlit Christmas trees, both Live and Artificial Life-Like Christmas trees in all sizes and varieties, the areas largest selection of Christmas lights in a variety of lengths, sizes, bulb types including energy efficient, and long lasting ,state of the art, LED Christmas lights, Christmas Garland, Christmas wreaths, Christmas decorations, and that perfect gift for that special someone!

Make Christmas Beautiful! Come to English Gardens This Christmas, It’s Fun For The Whole Family!

When it comes to the holidays other than Christmas, you won’t be disappointed, From July 4th, to Labor Day, Columbus Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Easter, Mothers and Fathers Day and more, you guessed it, you can count on English Gardens to Make the Holiday Beautiful!

Make the Holidays Beautiful! Come to English Gardens!

At the end of the day, we all enjoy putting a smile on our, and other’s faces, come to English Gardens at any one of our convenient locations and Make Today Beautiful!

Make Today Beautiful! Come to English Gardens!

Christmas at English Gardens

Where to Buy Frosted Christmas Trees in Michigan

The best artificial Christmas Trees in Michigan

Christmas Tree Sale

Where to Buy Mini Lit Christmas Trees in Michigan

Choose the right pencil Christmas tree this holiday season

Pre Lit Artificial Christmas Trees

Pre Lit Christmas Trees

White Lit Christmas Trees

Slim Flocked Christmas Trees

Slim Christmas Trees

Skinny Pre Lit Christmas Tree

Outdoor Lit Christmas Trees

Fake Christmas Trees