# Armstrong Garden Centers

Armstrong Garden Centers is a chain of employee-owned garden centers based in Glendora, California. The company was founded in the early 1890s in Ontario, California, and became known for its mail-order business, rose breeding program, and contributions to the horticultural industry. Since 1988, it has been an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) company.

## History

Armstrong Garden Centers traces its origins to 1889, when John S. Armstrong moved to Ontario, California, seeking a warmer climate for health reasons. He soon bought land and began growing Eucalyptus and Olive trees for eventual sale as windbreak trees. He also found work at Horsley and Eaton Nursery, where he gained experience in the horticulture trade.
In 1893, with a few years of experience under his belt, Armstrong established his own nursery business, originally named Ontario Nursery. Horsley and Eaton had objected to his side business selling windbreak trees and gave him an ultimatum: either sell his business to them or leave. Armstrong chose to leave and establish his own nursery at the corner of Euclid Avenue and A Street (now Holt Boulevard). Shortly after, Horsley and Eaton offered Armstrong $15 to rename the business, as they also objected to the name Ontario Nursery. He accepted the offer, renaming it Armstrong Nursery.
In 1902, Armstrong expanded his business through mail-order sales, which became a key driver of growth. His catalogs not only served as a way to distribute plants but also helped promote the boosterism of Southern California as a lush paradise, encouraging people across North America to envision the region as an ideal place to live. By 1909, Armstrong Nursery was advertising itself as "the Largest Nursery in Southern California."

## Rose Breeding and Expansion

In the 1930s, Armstrong’s son, John Awdry Armstrong, introduced a rose breeding program, which became the company’s hallmark. Armstrong-bred roses gained national and international recognition, with several varieties winning All-America Rose Selections (AARS) awards.
Notable rose varieties developed by Armstrong Nursery include:
* Charlotte Armstrong – Named after John S. Armstrong’s wife, this cerise pink rose became Ontario, California’s official city flower in 1962.
* Chrysler Imperial - based in part on the Charlotte Armstrong, in the 1954 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade, 25,000 Chrysler Imperial roses in individual refreshment tubes of water covered the base of the float entered by the City of Detroit, Michigan, US and Chrysler Corporation.
During its peak, Armstrong-bred roses were widely distributed across Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and even planted in the White House Rose Garden.
* Rosa 'Charlotte Armstrong', Lammerts 1940.
* Rosa 'Chrysler Imperial' Lammerts 1952.
* Rosa 'Dean Collins', Lammerts 1953.
* Rosa 'Queen Elizabeth', Lammerts 1954. Inducted into the Rose Hall of Fame as The World's Favorite Rose in 1978.
* Rosa Grandiflora 'John S. Armstrong', Swim 1961.

## Decline and Transition to Employee Ownership

By the 1980s, Armstrong Nursery began to decline as the founding family prepared to step away from the business. John S. Armstrong had died in 1965, and John A. Armstrong was nearing retirement. Without an interested heir to take over, the family sold the company to its employees in 1988, establishing an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).
The company, now rebranded as Armstrong Garden Centers, shifted its focus to retail garden centers and discontinued wholesale and rose breeding operations. In 2008, Armstrong expanded by acquiring Pike Nurseries, a garden center chain in Georgia.

## Present Day

Headquartered in Glendora, California, Armstrong Garden Centers operates 31 retail stores across California and is the largest independent garden retailer in the United States. The company continues to specialize in plants, garden supplies, and landscape design services. Wholesale breeding and growing operations is continued by Armstrong Growers, a subsidiary of Armstrong Garden Centers, serving independent garden centers across California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

## Miscellaneous

In 2014, the company’s legacy was explored with an exhibit called Paradise of Fruit and Flower at the Ontario Museum of History and Art, which documented the nursery’s contributions to Southern California’s horticultural industry.