Amato's Garden Center, Monmouth Junction

In 1978, Peter Amato and his father Anthony turned their part-time lawn-care business into a full-time botanical operation, expanding their employment team and developing a body of horticultural knowledge that would lead to stunning, custom landscape designs. Today, the floral hub sits on a 6-acre nursery, and the staff has shifted its focus from lawns to outdoor living spaces. The nursery blooms with flowers and plants ready to be picked up by customers and brought home to their backyards, while in the gift shop, shoppers browse an enormous selection of figurines, lights, and decorative accents. Clients may call upon the designers' artistry to discuss possible outdoor makeovers or peruse the website's extensive landscape resources and visit the greenhouse to curate their own gardens.