In 1949 Joseph Hillary, a US born citizen, sold his manufacturing and real estate operations in Havana, Cuba and bought a cattle ranch and citrus grove 5 miles west of Groveland, Florida on Highway 50. In 1975 Shaun and Dennis Hillary, Joe’s two sons, discovered extensive deposits of high grade peat moss on the property and began Hillary Peat Company. They began mining peat moss and formulating po
tting soils that they shipped, in bulk tractor-trailer loads, to nurseries throughout Florida. Today Hillary Peat Co operates out of a company owned 524 acre, fully permitted peat reserve in Avon Park, FL. The company remains a major supplier of custom blended potting soil to Florida nurseries. In 1981 Dennis took charge of the peat company while Shaun began converting pastureland, on the Hillary Ranch, into a container tree growing operation. In time, Marian Gardens Tree Farm grew to cover 1,000 acres of container tree production space. Marian Gardens has become one of the largest tree farms in the Eastern half of the United States, supplying landscapers, re-wholesalers, and garden centers from Long Island, New York to San Antonio, Texas and from Louisville, Kentucky to Miami, Florida.
