Landscaping reviews in Chicago, Illinois

This place has the best pot arrangements I’ve seen in a while! Lots of pumpkins and gourds to choose from too.

They are helpful with loading things into your car, but I am not convinced they are fully knowledgeable about the plants they sell. Last year I walked in with an accurate diagram of my raised planter boxes, and I was sold too many plants that would fit into them. The vegetables, specifically, suffered as a result. I bought arborvitaes that died within a month. This year I bought hydrangeas that have all died within a month as well. I’m being told by their staff they are thirsty plants and the watering I was doing was insufficient, but now it’s too much. Don’t go here for advice. I would love to support local businesses, but I’d rather buy from
Home Depot for less and have the same plants die.

Amazing selection of indoor and outdoor plants! Love the bonsai and pot selection. The staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. Would recommend if you are looking for interesting house plants or gifts.

Very pleasant place. The staff are helpful and the place is big. There are so many choices for plants and gardening tools.

I love this place!! It spans a few blocks between the herb/veggie area, indoor shop (with decor, fancier pots etc), large tree/shrub area, annuals lot, and more. The staff are always helpful and the plants are always so healthy! They've helped me put together some really beautiful planters over the years.

The best part is - although some will say it's pricey (and it is for some things, like indoor plants) - I actually find the annuals and herbs/veggies to be reasonably priced. Maybe a buck or two more than the big box places like home depot. Totally worth it, because the selection is lightyears better and the staff are actually knowledgeable. Plus, they're dog friendly. My ideal morning is taking my dog on a walk to help me pick out a few flowers here, and she always gets lots of attention from the staff. Gethsemane will always be a 10/10 for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Absolutely incredible staff!
They went above and beyond to help us when our cat accidentally fell out of our window — they found him, kept him safe, and treated him with such care and kindness. We are so grateful for their compassion and quick action. Truly a wonderful team and an amazing neighborhood business. Thank you, Gethsemane!

**Edit 02/28/22: I contacted a very kind manager and they explained that they have a 30 day plant health guarantee. They replaced the value of the plant and made it right. Thank you, and I will definately continue to come here in the future. It was very kind they reached out and made it right. I changed this one star review to 5 due to their kindness and the plant health guarantee. My original review is below.

This place has a great selection and similar prices to other places. Sadly, there are are numerous health issues with the plants. Sadly I bought a Alocasia "Hilo Beauty" and it has spider mites. No other plants in my collection have any problems and I am 100% it came from this location. I bypassed a higher end Phildenderon because it had evidence of spider mites. I thought the small amount of initial damge on the leaves was due to shipping etc. Also, both plants I bought at this time had fungus gnats present as well.

In the photos one can see the mite, mite damage and mite with eggs.

You get what you pay for. It’s an old adage, but absolutely true here. As an amateur but enthusiastic gardener this place has it all; friendly advice, great selection of well tended plants, excellent planting ideas, huge selection of pots and other gardening stuff. Turned our front yard from blah to beautiful in no time!

Great garden center, has everything you’re looking for, and the guy at the counter was really nice and helpful but MAN everybody else acts like you’re the scum of the earth for even trying to talking to them, did not have a great experience because of that 😭 does NOT make me want to come back 😵‍💫

“I truly love this garden center. I’ve visited several times and always find beautiful plants, pots, and soil. It’s a place I really enjoy, and I love coming back. Most of the staff have been wonderful: throughout my visits, more than 15 people have helped me with great kindness — from those who come up to ask if I have questions to the cashiers, who are always attentive and friendly.

However, on one occasion I asked 2–3 employees in the closed plant area, and their service was not cordial or friendly at all, which surprised me. Even with that small negative experience, I will definitely keep coming back, because this place has everything and I always find beautiful plants here.”

Best plant store ever. Great prices and even better people to be helpful!! Highly recommend.

Great service, Judy and Zac were soooo helpful. The passion and love of these incredible people is just amazing. Had a great time buying new plants.

Your #1 spot for buying plants AND getting the best quality advice. Even if you don’t have a green thumb, the folks in the greenhouse are incredibly experienced, always speaking with a smile. I really enjoy my visits here, especially as someone who has become a plant parent.

Very LGBTQ friendly! They use gender-neutral language in their customer service, and I’ve loved every visit. PLEASE SUPPORT GETHSEMANE!

The BEST place for all plant/tree needs! We wanted to create a beautiful arrangement for our hanging railing planters and didn't know here to start. It can be overwhelming. Gail assisted us and helped design an amazing assortment of plants and flowers that love the sun and can handle higher winds. Check out the photos of the arrangement we created with her and then how we did it as soon as we got home! Gail was amazing and really cared about making sure we were happy and we felt went out of her way. Overall Gethsemane is just full of good vibes and happy folks - both the employees and the customers!

Update: the staff at Gethsemane did reach out to me and helped rectify this situation.

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As a decades long customer of Gethsemane Garden Center (spending between $500 - $1000 each season), I'm sad to report the quality of the plants sold there have noticeably declined. I never minded paying a premium price when Gethsemane offered higher quality; however, this year 3-4 of the perennials I there purchased died within a month or so.

Case in point: see the photo. I purchased two of these perennials based on the recommendation of a Gethsemane employee. Planted side by side, one is doing just fine, the other is dead. Same light, same soil, some amount of water. I have to think it was the plant itself.

When I was at Gethsemane earlier today, I mentioned this to the perennial staff member (just happened to be the same woman who initially recommended these plants.) Of course, she said it was likely the soil, the light, watering ... and at least inferred it was my gardening skills.

I suggested the evidence pointed to a different conclusion, but the employee definitely would not consider providing a replacement. "Our policy."

Great plant and decor selection. The prearranged planters are very well put together and have thoughtful pairings. I appreciated the clear and visible signs regarding shade vs sun for how the plants grow.

This is one of my favorite garden centers for both indoor and outdoor plants. They have a huge selection of pots, planters, and water features. The Gethsemane team is very helpful and knowledgeable. Make sure to pop into the Wild Pansy, which has a selection of seasonal decor as well as great home goods and gift items.

This is hands down my favorite garden center and plant shop in the city- truly a gem. They have a wide selection of plants and flowers, as well as a great variety of pots and garden accessories. All of their plants are healthy, without bugs or issue, and the staff is incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. I come here often for their own brand mix of soil so I can propagate and plant my spider plant babies. I have bought a few plants here that have thrived at my home- and I feel confident every time I purchase a plant here that it's been well maintained.
They even have an awesome gift shop full of artistic and festive home goods, jewelry, gifts, tableware, accessories, you name it. Gethsename is one of the most impressive garden centers in Chicago, and I HIGHLY recommend it for your garden and houseplant needs! Thank you!

A slice of horticultural heaven! Everyone was super nice and enthusiastic about plants. And the selection was amazing. The conifer and Japanese maple collections were particularly outstanding. Great selection of air plants too!

The best plant shop in Chicago! Super friendly employees, amazing service, clean, unique plants and free easy parking highly recommend.

Love this place! I was looking for a small business to buy all my plant stuff and I'm glad someone recommended it to me. The staff is super nice and always willing to help.