Perennial Gardens, Inc.

In 1946 Gus Alvarez bought the property on route 22 in Bedford NY. Gus was an immigrant from Spain who had come to the US seeking a better way of life. He had just returned from serving in the us army during WWII and decided he wanted to have his own house to raise his family. The property was a small farm with a 2-bedroom farmhouse on the premises. Gus had worked at the Carl Tucker estate in Mt Kisco prior to his stint in the service and met a gentleman by the name of Karl Katschke. In 1948 Gus asked Karl if he would like to start a partnership and develop a garden center on the Bedford property. Karl agreed and Perennial Gardens was formed. Karl moved to the property in Bedford and built a 1-bedroom home for himself. A few years later they built a small store with a potbelly stove in it for warmth during the winter months.

They began selling nursery stock, annuals and perennials. As years went by they added workers so they could expand the business to do landscape work as well as masonry. Gus went out in the field and Karl remained at the store selling plants and hard goods. This continued until 1968 when Gus’s son Augie returned from the army and decided to join the family business. Augie started out by buying lawn mowers and with a helper started a maintenance division at perennial gardens. After 3 years Augie approached Karl and offered to buy his share of the business. In 1972 they worked out a deal with a 5-year payout. During that time Augie designed plans to build a new garden center with the thought that after the 5 year period was over he could afford to use that money to develop the garden center. In 1978 the garden center was built and it quickly developed into a destination for Bedford residents. They expanded the landscape part of the business as Augie went out and started designing projects for their clientele. Each year pg added a few more employees and expanded by snow plowing, interior design, masonry, and landscaping.
In 1990 Augie’s son Sean started working at pg and started a 3rd generation of Alvarez’s. Once again PG expanded in the landscape field and in the ensuing years added a project manager, project coordinator, and additional office staff to keep up with the growing business. Now PG solicits work from many landscape architects in the area and the garden center under Myles Brown continues to grow and supply our customers with all their needs. PG is proud to have a fabulous staff and continues to strive to have the best plants and service in the northern Westchester area.