Gethsemane Garden Center

On May 31, 2008, wickerparker from Chicago, IL wrote:

I have a love/hate/adore relationship with this place. First of all, try to avoid visiting on warm spring weekends when the lot will be full and there will be nowhere else to park within four blocks. Try to go on quiet weekdays, if at all possible. I hope the perennial dept.'s buyer is still there. Haven't spotted her this year, but in recent years she's done a tremendous job of getting in beautiful, cutting edge, under utilized, brilliantly bred plants you simply will not find in any other Chicagoland nursery. She's also very helpful, knowledgeable and fun to talk to. She brings in a gorgeous selection of vines, too -- clematis in particular -- in the spring. And unlike other nurseries in my orbit, they have the good sense to stock up again in the fall, which is my preferred time for planting.

Have not had such a good experience in other departments, though. Have never found anyone knowledgeable in the tree department, though that could be my bad luck. The selection is usually very good, though. They have a vast selection of annuals, but perplexingly I can never find anything there I want. Most of it is typical bedding material. Their shade offerings leave me cold. I don't do much vegetable gardening so can't report on that.

The Chalet, just north of the city, does a much much better job in the tools, fertilizers and remedies department. Gethsemane has not focused much at all on the practical stuff, to their detriment, I feel.

Worth noting that Gethsemane also has a very large gift shop, which may be of interest to some, and a large selection of tropical and house plants, as well as lots of ornaments.