Walters Gardens Founder Passes Away

Dennis Walters, founder of Walters Gardens in Zeeland, Michigan, passed away on Jan. 11, 2019.

In a tribute posted on the company’s Facebook page, Walters’ granddaughter, Karin Walters, the company’s marketing director, said, “Seventy-two years ago Dennis Walters married Harriet Knoll and started what is today Walters Gardens. He put his heart and soul into the business. With only an 8th grade education, he was humble and wise to take advice from others and always attributed his success to his faith in God.”

Walters, the father of the company’s current CEO John Walters, founded Walters Gardens along with his wife, Harriet, in the 1940s. In those days, phlox was the primary crop for the company, grown on about five acres of land near Lake Michigan.

Over the years, as the company grew and expanded, greenhouses and automated equipment were purchased to meet the increasing demand for the company’s perennials. In the 1970s, Walters Gardens was one of the first companies to have its own tissue culture lab.

In 2011, the company became a licensee of perennials for Proven Winners.

Funeral services took place on Jan. 14, in Zeeland.

Click here to read his obituary.