Behnkes History - Part I

The American Dream

The story of Behnke Nurseries is the epitome of the American Dream. A young man from Germany immigrated to the United States to seek a better life for himself while carrying on the family tradition. Now a local landmark, Behnke Nurseries began over 75 years ago in Beltsville, Maryland through the hard work and determination of that young man, Albert Behnke, and his wife Rose.

Albert Behnke grew up in the garden. His father, Wilhelm Behnke, owned a nursery in the northern town of Kellinghusen, Germany, where he grew roses, perennials and other flowers. Wilhelm sold his flowers all over Europe and England. In 1911, Wilhelm won a medal from the Horticultural Guild in Germany for developing a new variety of apple, the `Stina Lohman' variety.

Albert was born in 1904 in Kellinghusen. He grew into a strong-minded man determined to strike out on his own and create a new life for himself in America. Deciding that there was more that he could accomplish in the United States than he could in strictly-regulated Germany, Albert sailed to the States and continued working at what he knew, roses and cut flowers.

Before settling down in Beltsville, he worked at several jobs on the East coast, including working in the rose gardens of Bobbink and Atkins in New Jersey. It was with this company that Albert made a deal to receive a car in exchange for grafting nursery stock. Bobbink and Atkins agreed to this deal, never for a minute believing that Albert could possibly produce enough grafts to equal the worth of the car, but Albert worked long and hard and succeeded in earning his Model A Ford.

In 1930, Albert started his nursery in Beltsville. In July of 1931 he married a young German girl by the name of Rose Hausner. During the time of the Great Depression when love was sometimes overshadowed by the struggle to survive, their first meeting was as romantic as a fairy tale. According to their daughter, Sonja Behnke Festerling, Albert and Rose were both returning by ship to Germany to be married. The two met and it was fate.