The Story Behind The Plants...
Generation Growers, Inc. is more than a nursery- it’s a family legacy rooted in horticulture.
Long before the van Klaveren family immigrated to California, we tended nurseries in the Netherlands, passing down growing expertise and a love for high-quality plant stock. Even our family name, meaning ‘of clover,’ reflects our deep connection to the land.
Our mission is to use our love and knowledge of the horticultural industry to produce plants that bring life where your family blooms.
Meet The Family
Our Family History
Generation Growers, Inc. is owned by the van Klaveren family. Horticulture has been a family vocation tracing back six generations – they have chlorophyll in their veins!
Our founder, Abe, grew up on a family nursery in the Netherlands, named “van Klaveren Brothers”. In 1949 he decided to head to America to seek new opportunities and leaving a Europe that was financially depressed from World War II. By 1953, he married Elizabeth (Weststeyn) and headed up to Bothell, WA to work for Malmo’s Nursery and get started on saving up for his own nursery. In 1954 a 1 ½ acre parcel in Campbell, CA came up for sale and he was able to move his family back to California. He had gardening jobs during the day and made cuttings and sewed seed at night to start building the inventory. Van’s Nursery was open full time in 1956! Abe was a one-man show – sales person, deliveryman, propagator, production crew, and CEO.
By 1976 the business and family (now having four children) had outgrown the Campbell, CA location. Abe was able to find 7 acres of land in Modesto, CA where he built a home and moved the nursery. The family prospered here – being able to continue to service their Bay Area customers while gaining new clients in the San Joaquin Valley and foothills.
As the children grew up they were able to find their place in the world. Robert (3rd in birth order) joined the nursery full time in 1988 and then Roger (the youngest) came into the nursery in 1992. They both had areas of expertise in the horticulture industry yet you could tell that they were raised with the plants, understanding the business from seed to store.
In 1997, Roger and his wife, Deanna, were able to purchase the adjoining property in Modesto. This expanded the growing grounds to 10 acres in production. That same year, Robert and his wife, Anneke, moved up to Brooks, OR to open a new growing facility. Once both locations were established, the locations were split into two businesses. So in 2007, the original namesake was placed on the Oregon location and the California establishment was renamed, Generation Growers, Inc..
In 2024, Abby (Roger & Deanna’s daughter) graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in horticulture. After completing an internship at the nursery in Ireland, she stepped back into the family business as a full-time staff member. In the summer of 2025 she took on the responsibilities of general manager. The company is grateful for all that she is sharing from her educational experiences while also connecting to years of growing up on the nursery property.
So as they look forward, the family feels fortunate to work in an industry that “we love, doing what we truly enjoy – growing quality plants for retail garden centers!”
