The Gratwick family lived at 776 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo in architect Henry Hobson Richardson's last commissioned home, an imposing brownstone, which stood until 1919.

When his father died, "Harry" assisted in management of the lumber company but preferred other pursuits, including real estate projects in the Midwest and acting as Vice-President of the New York State Board of Charities.

[6] With the inheritance he also scouted out a farm property in Livingston County, New York, which proved suitable for the establishment of a summer estate, which was a popular investment for those of means.

Harry worked with Green and Wicks, a prominent Buffalo firm, to design the summer house, and hired Boston landscape architect Thomas Fox to plan out the surrounding roads and garden areas between about 1901-1910.

His most lasting legacy, however, is the collection of Japanese and hybrid tree peonies that are still curated at Linwood Gardens, many important varieties of which were developed at the property beginning in the 1940s.

[10] Born in Greece, Nassos Daphnis (1914-2010) was a New York City painter who met Bill Gratwick and was introduced to the world of the tree peony in the late 1930s.