About Us
It all started with a couple Gladiola bulbs and a love of dirt.
Our Story
In the beginning, man was directed to “till the ground from whence he was taken” (Genesis 3:23 KJV)
Once the soil has stained your hide, your destiny in the business of Agriculture, specifically “The Nursery”, is very hard to get away from.
Great, great grandfather, Louis Leopold Milarch began by growing Gladiola bulbs on 35 acres of ground in Copemish, Michigan. He called his business Mish-a-Mish Gardens, which translates to “Grandmothers Gardens” in the language of the Ojibwa Tribe.
As the family grew, and new families were formed, the pull of the big city and all of its money eventually drew most of the children further south.
The Edward L. Milarch family started out in Farmington, Michigan in 1946. The union shop only worked 40 hours per week, which left one with enough spare time to begin raising nursery plants (i.e. perennials and pansies) to satisfy the original call into this business. As hobbies often do, it grew into a “take up all of your spare time” and then to a “take up all of your time” business. This process spanned the years of 1952-1971.
The actual growing and selling was both time and space intense, so the focus shifted to buying mature landscape plants and making them available to local landscape businesses.
In the spring of 1972, a new partnership was formed between Bob Rogers and Roger Milarch (Edward’s eldest son). Operations were headquartered on Parkville in Livonia, Michigan on 2.5 acres of land in a residential area.
As business grew, the idea to expand the business and provide better service to our customers seemed the appropriate next step. At that time, expansion from Detroit went West or North. Roger and Sharon (wife) lived in Wixom, Michigan, which made the decision to move westward an easy one.
We began to do business at the Haas Road location on 10 acres of land in the spring of 1973. Progress was slow and it seemed we were a bit too far west to be in the flow of the landscape trade, so we called this place our farm to supplement our Livonia location.
This arrangement worked well for 10 years or so. However, the density of the population in the residential area finally took its toll, and we had to relocate our headquarters to Keego Harbor. Rogers Garden Center was formed in 1988, prompted by Bob and his brother Ron, working together in retail and landscaping. Roger, Sharon, Terry (son) and Tim (son) retained the Wixom farm, and kept the Milarch Nursery Inc. name doing wholesale sales to landscapers, and some area homeowners.
Our daughter Tammy worked with us for a number of years until she married and moved north to Hadley, Michigan. We enjoyed such a booming economy, that we found ourselves hard-pressed to manage the business without additional inside help.
In 1997, LeeAnne (daughter) joined us to make the business more manageable. Our youngest son Michael worked here for a time in 2003 before moving on to other passions. After college, Sarah (granddaughter) and Jonathan (grandson) joined the team, and who knows how many more will follow suit.
In the nearly 50 years of operation, we have expanded to 27.5 acres of land, established a thriving business for our fourth generation family to take part in, and created friendships to last a lifetime.
Roger and Sharon have since retired, splitting their time between Michigan and Florida. As of today, there are eightteen in the fourth generation, twelve girls and six boys, all of which have worked part-time in the business.
The fifth generation has already begun, and once they get their fingers in the dirt, who knows how long it will take to wash their hands of this business.
Only the Best
Milarch Nursery is, and always has been, a family owned and operated business from our very beginning. Personal service and customer satisfaction will always be our goal.
Great pride is taken, amid the challenges of today, to provide our valued customers with quality plant material.
We take the time to educate our customers, passing along our passion for the green industry, and ensuring that every person has the ability to grow beautiful, healthy stock. Our years of experience, knowledge, and passion are what separate us from our competition.
Years Established
Generations
Acres
Blessings
“It’s a family business. It’s been a way of providing income to a lot of families. And now it’s providing income to our grandchildren. It feels very rewarding to pass on the businesses, to have it keep going. Not all businesses do that. Most are detoured along the way. So far so good. And how richly blessed we have been by God. It overwhelms me some times. God is in control of this… sharing your blessings.”
Roger & Sharon Milarch
Contact Us
P.O. Box 277, New Hudson, MI 48165
28500 Haas Rd, Wixom, MI 48393
Telephone: (248) 437-2094
Fax: (248) 437-5305
