This is us. we’d love to welcome you in person.
Bedner’s is a thriving family farm, garden center, and landscape business located in McDonald, (Cecil Township), just 30 minutes southwest of Pittsburgh. In January, the growing begins in our greenhouses, 17 to be exact, all filled with hanging baskets, potted annuals, herb & vegetable plants, and perennials. That’s right, everything is grown here. We have the pleasure of watching it all grow during the coldest, grayest days of winter.
Which is why we’re so excited for our garden center to open each March through October, and to fill it with a very large and fresh selection of homegrown trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals, gardening supplies, bulk and bagged soils, mulch, fall mums and pumpkins. We also offer our customers expert landscape services, year-round seasonal workshops, our own winery, farm-to-table dinners, group events, pavilion rentals, plus fields to pick-your-own vegetables and flower bouquets in season.
We’ve been guided through good and challenging times by faith, family, hard work, resilience and a passion for the green industry. We believe in pursing excellence in everything we do and feel a strong commitment to serving our community and making lives better through gardening and the joy of growing, creating beautiful outdoor spaces, and making fresh, healthy produce available to everyone.
OUR MISSION: To connect people to the benefits of nature through homegrown plants, products and services, flourishing landscapes, and educational events and workshops.
OUR VALUES: Quality, Integrity, Teamwork, Dedication, Education, and Relationships
Family History
1917 Bedner brothers, Stephen and Walter buy farmland in Upper St. Clair. Stephen and his wife, Elizabeth, begin the farming heritage with their four children: Robert, Russell (Bob’s dad and Russ’ ‘grandpap’), Arthur, and Ruth. The family farms for many years, transporting their produce to the market on the North Side by a horse-drawn wagon.
1956 Robert and Russell open Bedner’s Farm Market in Upper St. Clair on Bower Hill Road. Ruth helps the family business and marries Dick Rostron. They have two children, Nancy and Dave. Robert has no children and Russell and Joan (Maioli) have three: Bob, Ray, and Cathy.
1960 Bedner farm in Palm Beach county is established. In the early 1950s, Arthur Bedner and his new bride, Henrietta, relocate to South Florida from Bridgeville, to follow his dream of a new life in the farming industry. They have three children: Charlie, Bruce, and Steve, who continue to operate the farm and Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market.
1977 Bob and Sue Bedner marry, and their only child, Russ, is born in 1978. They work for the farm market in Upper St. Clair.
1984 Bob and Sue purchase a 42-acre farm in McDonald, PA, and begin building greenhouses to grow more container gardens, annual flowers and perennials. They deliver all their homegrown produce and flowers to sell at the family’s farm market in Upper St. Clair.
1997 Bob and Sue branch off from the family farm market to open their own retail greenhouse in McDonald. There are ten greenhouses at this time. Russ works for the family business full time.
1999 Melanie joins the business while dating Russ.
2000 Four more greenhouses are built to grow geraniums, container gardens, and perennials.
2004 Russ and Melanie get married. Melanie joins the family business full time after finishing her M.S. Ed. at Duquesne University.
2006 Russ and a family friend build a Nexus greenhouse, to be used as a larger retail space, including an expanded perennial and nursery area.
2013 Landscape design/build and maintenance services are now available.
2018 Russ officially launches Passiflora Springs Winery from the farm, where he produces, ferments, ages and bottles small-batch varieties. Grapes are predominantly sourced from the Suison Valley region in California.
2021 Passiflora Springs Winery begins sourcing some of its grapes from new regions in Italy.
Memberships
- AmericanHort
- The National Association for Landscape Professionals (NALP)
- Pennsylvania Landscape & Nursery Association (PLNA)
- The Garden Center Group
- Washington County Chamber of Commerce (WCCC)
- Peters Township Chamber of Commerce
- South West Regional Chamber of Commerce
- Washington County Tourism and Promotion Agency (WCTPA)
- McDonald Area Redevelopment Association (MARA)
- Washington County Farm Bureau
Community Support
- Flower bed plantings at the Panhandle Trail, McDonald Trail Station.
- Cecil Friends of the Montour Trail
- South Fayette/Greater Bridgeville Relay for Life
- South Hills Women’s Club
- Pittsburgh Botanic Garden
- Cecil Township Parks and Recreation
- Penn State Master Gardeners of Allegheny and Washington counties
- Cecil and Muse Elementary schools
- Future Farmers of America – Fort Cherry High School
- Cecil American Legion
- Cecil and Muse Fire Departments
- Character Education Book sponsor for local elementary schools through The Ambassador Company
- The Armory Center for Youth in Canonsburg
- Strikes Against Cancer
- The Still Remembered Project
