History

Our History

The late 1920s marked the beginning of what is now Lurvey, when the Ahrens family started a farm and market in Des Plaines, IL.

The whole Ahrens family, including daughter Marion, worked hard on the farm and in the market to yield and sell quality products. In 1938, Marion married Ray Lindemann, who joined the family business. Soon after, Daddy Ahrens retired and Ray took proprietorship of the farm and the market. Ahrens Market soon became Lindemann’s Garden Center. As time passed, Ray decided to pull back with the farming aspect of the business and expanded the market.

Decades later, in 1978, Lyle Lurvey, with sons Greg and Mark, changed the focus of their farm from dairy to growing sod and turf. In 1985, Mark Lurvey made a sales call to Ray Lindemann to see if he would be interested in purchasing Lurvey sod. Ray wasn’t interested in buying sod, but he was interested in selling the Garden Center. 

Thinking this would be an opportunity for a quality investment, the Lurveys’ bought Lindemann’s Garden Center in 1986 and, by 1991, had transformed it into Lurvey American Green. Since then, Lurvey has expanded to four landscape supply locations around the Chicagoland area, along with the Home and Garden Center in Des Plaines, IL, and the Turf Nursery in Whitewater, WI.

From the planting of our first sod in 1978 to the acquisition of the Garden Center in 1991, Lurvey has grown to be one of the nation’s premier Landscape Distribution Centers. As a company, Lurvey is dedicated to helping people improve their outdoor surroundings by providing quality landscape products and exceptional customer service. 

Our vast product and service offerings, enhanced by the interaction between our Turf Nursery, Landscape Supply, and Garden Center, demonstrate our capacity to supply virtually all of your landscape material needs. 

We strive to be a convenient one-stop supplier and invaluable partner to our customers by offering the largest variety and highest quality plant and hardscape material in Chicago.

Whatever your gardening and landscape vision

— see how Lurvey can help bring it to life!