The Dubner family’s half-century-deep roots in the local horticultural industry grew deeper last year when they opened Heritage Farm & Garden, allowing their passion to blossom in the retail garden center market.
The 42-acre store in Muttontown is run by Wendy Dubner Master, daughter of Long Island landscaping and nursery industry veteran Steven Dubner — both of whom pursued careers in law before plowing ahead with the family business.
“When I started the landscape business, it was purely a vehicle to help me pay for college and law school,” Steven says. “Once I was a member of the New York State Bar, I said to myself, ‘I will just keep the landscaping business two more years.’ And here I am still doing it. I get to live my passion.”
Steven founded the eponymous Steven Dubner Landscaping, Inc., 52 years ago, Northeast Nurseries in Cutchogue three decades ago and Metro Green Visions, which shares Dix Hills office space with his landscaping company, about eight years ago.
Last year, the family bought Martin Viette Nurseries, which closed after 87 years, and opened Heritage, which boasts an impressive selection of annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees and more — including Wendy’s acclaimed pottery designs. Prior to opening Heritage, Wendy worked in the industry for over 25 years, designing pottery and home décor, as well as consulting with many national retailers providing trend direction.
The family, while being reluctant to publicize it, has always been heavily involved in philanthropy. Steven started a local chapter of the Boy Scouts of America troop for kids with Down syndrome and learning disabilities, created a children’s garden at the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County in Glen Cove and most recently, the Center for Developmental Disabilities in Woodbury recruited Heritage to form an educational program for some of its 5 to 21-year-old students with learning disabilities.
Wendy will help, but her mother, Candy, will oversee the program for Heritage and handle most interaction with the students, Wendy says, adding that it represents a way to “use the facilities and location here to do something good for people in the community,” which is “one of our goals.”
It’s just another example of how this family is making the Island more beautiful.
Heritage Farm & Garden is located at 6050 Northern Blvd., in Muttontown. They can be reached at 516-922-1026 or heritagefarmandgarden.com.
