Pahl’s Market

Wonderful customer service! I called looking for a specific tree species, they quickly were able to locate the tree and did not put me on hold for very long. I drove down to pick one out, asked for help and the staff politely showed me what I was looking for. A gentleman came out to my truck to help load the tree and arrange it to safely drive it home.

This is a great nursery! Tons of plants and friendly, helpful people. Maybe the prices aren’t all that cheap but they have a great selection.

I am writing this review for 2 parts; the CSA and landscaping.
CSA…
We tried to sign up for 2014 and they were sold out. So I signed up early for 2015. The CSA is a Community Supported Agriculture program where you pay for a share and receive weekly distributions in season. The season started out with a huge amount of Kale and the Kale has continued. The Family Share is supposed to be a bushel but we have had a lot of problems.
I have been a member of other CSA’s in other states and the price was cheaper for more produce with greater variety. Next year I will save my money and just go the farmers market. I gave away the rest of my share because each box is a disappointment.
Pros
— convenient pickup locations
— bonus bread and meat
— bonus box of corn or green beans (my choice)
Cons
— produce was so dirty for the first month that I had a trail of dirt on my carpet to the kitchen as their boxes have big slits in the bottom
— share portions of specific items are poor (2 beets one week)
— share portions overall are poor once you remove the Kale and all of the leafy stems
— variety is poor; okra, eggplant and herbs would have been a nice addition
— we received green beans for several weeks; one of the weeks they were way too old and had to be thrown
— raspberries arrived moldy and squished
— corn was just average, not a very sweet variety
LANDSCAPING …
Mike came out and we discussed what I wanted in landscaping. I offered to pay for a scale drawing but Mike said he would draw something up and we would discuss. Mike emailed me a plant list and quote but I had to go to Pahl’s to view the very rough hand drawing.
Issues
First — the plant list was not what I asked for and were just plant names. I had to look up every one of them (most weren’t on the Pahl’s site or had a poor picture). The list reiterated that he hadn’t listened to my request. A lot of grass plants.
Second — I wanted some materials that Pahl’s doesn’t have. Even the pink quartz seemed to be a bother to Mike. He could have worked with some third party suppliers or at least offered to work with me on coordination. Paver stone selection was minimal with no enthusiasm by Mike for my request.
Third — his knowledge was inaccurate on some of what he told me about plants, mulch, rock and ground cover. This I confirmed with 3 other landscapers.
Fourth — they were by far the most expensive with the worst design. I questioned the cost on a couple of portions of the estimate and he just said that is the price. Mike didn’t seem interested in working out those portions. All of the other landscapers I contacted were cheaper on the pink quartz rock (ultimately 29 cy by the time the job was completed).
Fifth — when I told Mike all of the above he then offered to redo the design and get back to me within a week. I never heard back from him until 2 months later when I wrote the owner. Then he had no idea who I was and wrote a strange email.
Gary Pahl was great and the only reason this review is not a straight F. He even sent me a $ 25 gift card for emailing my frustrations, even though I had the landscaping completed elsewhere. If he was the landscaper this probably would have had a much better outcome for all.
The sad part is that they were my first choice until everything went downhill. My landscaper of choice worked with me and coordinated with a third party. It turned out beautifully but I wouldn’t have had the options I ultimately selected with Pahl’s.
They do have a nice in store plant selection and the store employees are nice and helpful. Otherwise this would have been a 1 star rating.

The first thing I wanted to note is the coupons. This place has a huge problem with anyone using coupons. They are terrible! $ 5 off a purchase $ 50 or more, and two weeks to use it on certain items? Wow, what a deal! I also don’t appreciate them shredding their coupons right in front of me every time I check out. (They cut their coupons into tiny shreds at the counter into ice cream pails. — classy!)
Second, this year they offered punch cards to their customers. I believe it was spend $ 200 get $ 25 off. My checkout came to around $ 230 that day. Thinking I could receive $ 25 off, because I had $ 175 on the card from two weeks earlier I was quite excited. Nope, you have to come back to use the card! No where on the card, not even the fine print did it say this. Another great deal!
Third, most of their staff is a young crowd. Each, and every time I have visited I have been treated rudely, and as if I did not matter. I was directed to another line one day because «my cart did not have enough items to be in the fast line.» No thank you, no come again. Nothing. When asking a simple question the young girls will snap at you and act like you are dumb.
This place used to be the family oriented farmers market. Now, they think they own Apple Valley and are high on their house. Go elsewhere. Bachmans, Home Depot, or Linders. There are so many other flower marts that are friendly, have good prices, and just as good quality.

I used to shop here as a mini farmer’s market. They no longer stock much. Over priced and if you want there sweet corn just go buy it at Cub Foods since thats who they supply. I will not go to Pahl’s and instead now support the St. Paul Farmers Market. They have markets every day in different communities.

If you love your plants and flowers as much as me, you will love Pahls! If you have visited Gertens and you were a little bit overwhelmed, try the smaller, more local version. Outdoor plants, a few greenhouses, a fairly large selection of pottery, fresh vegetables, outdoor décor and seating. It seems like this place has so much to offer the outdoor landscaper. I love the atmosphere, it kind of puts me at ease.
Prices for items do vary. I think it’s a great idea to purchase planters in the off season… The fall seems to be the perfect time to be on the hunt, right now some of the outdoor pottery you can get 30% to 50% off of the retail price. I picked up 3 rustic clay looking pots today, so cute! Don’t wait until spring because that’s when the prices seem to spike back up! I also bought some adorable pumpkins to decorate my patio and my desk at work. I need a little color, if ya sense what I’m sayin’. As for the larger pumpkins they charge around .59 to .79 cents per pound, which I find reasonable. Some of the flowers change with the season, right now there are plenty of mums to go around!
The staff is always friendly and is always very helpful. The attentiveness of the staff is driven by the need of the customer, which is totally cool with me. Most of the time the less pressure there is, the more I end up buying!

Came out here to check out their pumpkin selection and bringing the little nephew out for some photos and fun. The place was a little hard to get into since we thought we could turn on an off street on Galaxie, but found that there was no back entrance. Only front.
Once we got in there, we found tons and tons of pumpkins to choose from. Small, big, medium, baby size… a fun place to bring your kids to choose from the big selection of pumpkins. They also sell many types of flowers and trees, and what have you. And if you go during this time of year (fall/​Halloween), they have a straw maze to let your kids run around in, as well as a huge bouncy pumpkin and a bouncy haunted house. Supposedly a petting zoo too, but we couldn’t find it, or didn’t make the time to find it.
They sell all sorts of fall décor and they have plenty staff workers walking around that could probably help you look for what you need. Plenty of pottery and a good sized barn-​like building with other things they sell in there. They have hot coffee, cider, and popcorn while you walk around.
Great place to check out during this time of year with your kids, tons of places for them to explore and for you, some plants and flowers to check out. Fun for all!