The Gowanus Nursery's New Digs
The Gowanus Nursery, originally located on 3rd Street (in Gowanus) and more recently on Summit Street, in Red Hook, has reopened on the corner of Carroll and Van Brunt. The new location is just around corner from the spot on Summit Street it called home for three seasons. According to the business’s Facebook page, it’s…
The Gowanus Nursery, originally located on 3rd Street (in Gowanus) and more recently on Summit Street, in Red Hook, has reopened on the corner of Carroll and Van Brunt. The new location is just around corner from the spot on Summit Street it called home for three seasons. According to the business’s Facebook page, it’s operating on Saturday and Sunday at present until its renovation is complete.
The Gowanus Nursery [Official Site]
Last year I went to buy some bamboo at Gowanus Nursery. There was a very helpful person who helped me go thru the different types. I think that her name was Judith. There was at the same time, two people working there, one was a dark haired woman-in her thirties, maybe? and one was a woman much older, perhaps in her 60s? In any case, the younger one was speaking so loudly and swearing (I had my son with me who is a 4 year old) and when the volume rose and the language was ‘asshole’, I made it clear that I needed to think about the bamboo You could tell that the helpful person was embarrassed. Need I say more? I think that the younger. loud woman was the owner, but I can’t be sure. If it wasn’t the owner, the worker should have been fired. If it was indeed the owner, then she should fire herself. What a mess.
The staff at Gowanus is friendly enough, particularly this one sweet lady. However, it’s a different story with Michelle. Last year we were at the register about to be rung up and changed our minds about one of the plants. She made an awful face then walked away ordering a staffer to deal with us. We were regular customers and would always drop about $500 on plants and another $500 or so on containers but not since that incident. It made us feel very uncomfortable.
these people only love you if you drop a lot of $$$ and are as dumb as them. i have no other store to promote. if you rip out an annual bed every fall, and plant in fullgrown plants every spring, of course they love you, you are excreting money for no good reason. ever heard of perennials, rock gardens, seeds? if you are actually a person with a love and knowledge of gardening, and you are looking for a particular perennial, they don’t know wtf, and they really don’t care either.
UNLESS you are dropping serious CASH. So who needs em?
I recommend David Shannon nursery:
3380 Fort Hamilton Pkwy. Brooklyn, NY 11218 (718)436-4521
http://www.shannonflorist.com/aboutus.asp
I do rooftop container gardening & they had all the supplies, good prices [esp. on large bags of Vermiculite and Perlite] & were extremely helpful and friendly. Plus they have their own parking lot.
>Cut them some slack
I see. They’re high priced, have poor customer relations, *you, the customer* have to show ‘serious interest’ before they will condescend to be nice to you, and it’s a burden to say thanks in an email (btw, their facebook page said their phone line was down, which is why I sent an email.)
I really want to patronize locally owned stores. But it’s hard.
Oh, btw, would you visit my fantastic online plant store at http://www.cmugreatplants.com?
Count me as one of their defenders as well. If it’s a busy weekend, they don’t have the staff for in-depth consultation/guidance. When it’s not hectic, they always have excellent advice and have recommended some nice plants that I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. I also once requested a plant that I hadn’t seen in any nursery, and the owner actually kept looking for it for 2 years until one finally turned up. I do agree that it helps if you have an idea of what you’re looking for, and an accurate assessment of the growing conditions in your yard. They tend to have uncommon plants that might be more finicky than the impatiens and such at Lowe’s.
I’ve bought a lot from them and find that, while they may not be overwhelmingly friendly at first, if you show a serious interest they will warm up a bit. That’s not ideal in my eyes but god knows there are retailers with worse attitudes and at least their plants are good.
stonergut, seems like there are three negative comments, and three positive, mine being in the latter group.
All of the posters save one I recognize as long time ‘stoners, so hardly true about shill competitors.
cmu, do you own a plant store we don’t know about? lol…
This nursery is brilliant. It has changed the face of many gardens in the area.
MIchele Paladino, the owner has lost her two previous locations because of developers… cut her some slack if she wasn’t charming enough through this transition. Her selection, quality and plant knowledge is beyond compare. Not to mention, she and her staff actually remember what you’ve bought, which is especially helpful on return visits.