The Garden Party story starts back in 1996 when Eric and Christy moved to Lake of the Ozarks. Eric was from Wisconsin but also grew up in Blue Springs; Christy grew up in Overland Park, Kansas. They decided the lake would be a great place to start a family. They moved with just an old blazer of belongings and their dog named Dirt.

Petska’s Nursery started in Osage Beach on what is now the parkway before the bypass existed. After having three babies close together between 1998 and 2000, they moved to a home in the country which is the current location of The Garden Party.

In 2002, the first two greenhouses were built and are still currently used as the growing houses. Up until 2020, they grew only wholesale and supplied a few resorts around the lake with flowers. In the fall of 2020, they acquired a greenhouse structure and decided to build the store. Several people had asked about purchasing flowers, vegetables, and herbs, so this new space allowed them to begin offering retail to their community.

The community came through in a huge way. The response was overwhelming–it enabled them to build two new greenhouse structures to increase the retail shopping space in 2023 and 2024.

The Garden Party is continually evolving with new plans on the horizon every year!