Mother Earth Gardens

Cute little place with very knowledgable staff! I just a started a butterfly garden for the first time and they gave me great direction and advice for how to organize my garden and which plants they recommended. Very happy with my experience here :)

I guess you could say we got off on the wrong foot. I live far away from Mother Earth and especially went there on a friend’s recommendation early this a.m. — in a hurry but I had a small list and knew what I wanted. I parked in the pick-​up spot, since I needed several large bags (which are right by the pick-​up spot) as well as a few plants. I was the only customer, there wasn’t anything going on and I got the stink eye from the people working there — saying «a truck could come» and I should park across the street. Well if that had happened I would of moved in a minute but they had such a big attitude about it I left. I am not one of those people who needs business owners to be my best friend but I do expect a basic level of courtesy. I was planning on spending about $ 100 but will take it elsewhere.

I really really like this place. I’m new to gardening and the staff was helpful when deciding what plants to purchase. They also helped me understand how to take care of my new plants. I was excited to see what a wide selection they have. I plan on putting in a vegetable garden and I was happy to see that they had established plants on hand. On top of it all they have beautiful pots and garden décor. I’ll definitely keep coming back!

A very nice place, but pricier than other local nurseries. I can only afford to treat myself to some special purchase once in a while.

Since learning of MEG several years ago I have become a regular customer. With the info that neonics (chemicals used in most large greenhouses and garden centers) are contributing to the decrease in the bee population I have shifted my plant purchase to organic growers.
Staff are friendly and helpful. I know someone complained about slow checkouts but this is a small business and when everyone shows up at the start of the growing season it may take a few minutes to check out. Live with it. If you hate lines don’t come at peak times — not really rocket science.
The best part is that MEG has varieties of plants that you won’t see at other places. I never saw lemongrass at any of the hardware store garden centers, but MEG has it. Native species for plantings that don’t need as much watering — MEG.
MEG is a fixture of spring in Minneapolis.

I live in the northern suburbs. We have a few nurseries in the area, but they arent SPECIAL. They also do not have any native plants, everything is a cultivar. This place is incredible and definitely worth the drive. I found the staff to be helpful and genuinely nice. Since the atmosphere is kind of boutiquey, I figured that they would be spendier than other nurseries– nope! I walked out the door paying $ 50 less than my quick mental calculations. I really enjoyed filling up my blue wagon with natives (some of which are hard to find) and organic tomatoes!

Terrible customer service experience. Yes, they have beautiful things, but unfortunately like many businesses cater to their customers that have a lot of money.
Felt completely disrespected and undervalued as a frequent customer. Minnehaha Nursery is much more friendly and they support the local schools.

Nice garden with knowledgable staff.

Oh, Mother Earth, how I love thee. I walked in today wide-​eyed and totally confused about what I needed for my garden, and I walked out, with the help of two awesomely knowledgeable employees, with a gorgeous array of plants and veggie seeds. I’m freakishly committed to planting native-​Minnesota plants, and Mother Earth Gardens had exactly what I was looking for. They knew what would work in my soil, gave me tips on how to give my new plants the best chances for surviving my less-​than-​ideal soil and light conditions, and took the time to make sure I got the combination of plants that I was looking for.
MEG has an amazing, huge selection of plants, flowers, herbs, veggies, and garden tools + accessories. Better yet, they have the knowledge and patience to help a newbie navigate all of these beautiful options.

A nicely set-​up and beautiful space outdoor space with plenty of good-​looking plants and flowers. Grab one of their small wagons if you’re planning to buy more than a small plant or two.
Prices seem reasonable with plenty of variety of vegetables and herbs (countless types of tomatoes-​heirloom and hybrid– and at least 5 different types of basil).
On this recent lovely weather weekend, the place was crawling with customers, and the wait line to pay was a bit long, snaking out through their inside shop (which houses quite a variety of seeds and gift items).

I haven’t spent a lot of time in this place, but I was very impressed when I stopped in there today looking for one thing: a Cherokee Purple heirloom tomato plant.
The fact that they had the specific heirloom I was looking for but not a popular hybrid (Burpee BrandyBoy) leads me to believe this place specializes in heritage plant types. Since I was only there for a few minutes and didn’t browse the products I can’t speak to the variety or selection.

5 stars. There should be more small businesses like this one. Friendly workers in muddy garden boots answered any of my newbie to organic gardening questions. The prices were not bad either for our seedlings. In addition the containers are Eco friendly. How awesome is that? The weekends are crazy here to I recommend coming after work or during the week. Love love love this place.

Mother Earth Gardens is just 2 short blocks from my house, and I have been going there since long before it was Mother Earth Gardens. They have a very nice selection of plants, especially given that they are a small place. I love that they have small pots of native perennials for a very reasonable price, as natives generally grow fast anyway. It has saved me many a trip to some of the larger garden centers and I love not having to drive my car when going to buy plants. They have a nice selection of pots as well. I think that MEG is really the nicest, small independently owned garden store that I have been to (and believe me, I have been to a lot of garden stores and garden centers).

This is a GREAT ecoearthy gift store and a MEDIOCRE garden center. We are repeatedly happy to be able to stop here for a last-​minute gift on our way to a housewarming party or somesuch.
They’ve gotten their act together recently (new owners, no?) in terms of stocking and organization, but the spectacular lack of low-​end goods puts the whole shop into question. What’s the point of being an environmentally conscious shop if you only cater to those who think the best and the most complicated is the way to go?
A GREAT garden center is Linder’s on Larpenteur where they really know plants, soil, tools. A great place to get annuals locally is South Side Farm. Pick up a kitten too.

This is a GREAT garden center. Came here quite late in the season to get some starter vegetable plants as we had just gotten into a community garden and it was too late to start most things from seed. We did get some flower seeds though, as well as the starter plants.
Products: Wide variety of gardening products, seemed to have everything someone would need for gardening. As I said, it was late in the season but there was still a very vast variety of starter plants and seeds, particularly pleasing to me was that they had tons of good heirloom and organic varieties. If you are looking for these, this is the place to go. I guess one might guess this from the name though. The plants were reasonably priced. If you are really looking to save money though, check around. I found some of the same plants (from the same place) at the Wedge Co-​op for a bit cheaper. However, one must remember that plants that are indoors (like the ones at the Wedge) will need to be hardened off more; so it really depends on what you want or need. Also, some garden implements can be bought at hardware stores for cheaper, such as tomato cages.
Service: Staff is VERY nice. They are approachable, knowledgeable, and don’t make you feel stupid if you are not a gardening expert. They even let us take the plant carriers home with us and said to just bring them back when we bring our plastic pots back — oh yea, they have a plastic pot recycling program where you can bring the plastic pots that the plants come in back to the garden center — they also have plants that come in compostable containers as well!

This is a pleasant little garden center in our neighborhood. The help are always friendly. Some are knowledgeable. The problem is, Mother Earth Gardens is the most disorganized private business I have ever experienced. Even at the peak of the season they only have 1 or 2 tills going. People line up like sheep to pay for whatever they want to buy. There is no sense of urgency. At the peak of the season, they are often out of stock, either due to lack of anticipation or just general disorganization.
Although MEG is closer to my home, I usually go to Minnehaha Falls Nursery, also in the neighborhood. MFN is better stocked, better run, and far better organized.
Not Recommended.

ok, can I just say Mother earth gardens, hands down, is the nicest garden/​gift/​plant retail business that we have in Mpls. Gifts for every occasion, knowledgable staff, the best plants, taken such well care of, till they are bought and put in the ground.
I think their «gift» selection is sort of a sleeper cell — meaning they have something for everyone. Sun/​Garden hats… cards, local artists items…
They have awesome garden tools, hose sprayers, bulk compost, every kind of grass seed, mulch, rain barrels…
Not to mention, the plants – organized so you understand them – and they are pretty damn picky about where they buy from.
Shop there!!!

I wish this were more conveniently located to my hood. It’s is a bright and cheery addition to the Riverview Theater intersection. Browsing through the reasonably priced herbs and flowers motivated me to start my own herb garden. At least a buck fifty less than Sunnyside for these well-​started herbs.
The staff were friendly and helpful and seemed to enjoy working there. Their positive attitude makes your feel confident in your purchases. And as I am a sucker for all things marketing and packaging, I have to say, I love their logo. It’s colorful dots are what drew me in to begin with. ;)

i love this place. the prices are reasonable, the people who work there are so courteous. i went there with a 2 year old and a newborn so they helped me keep the 2 year old entertained and helped me carry stuff to my car. they are knowledgeable about plants and i love that place.

Tucked away in the Longfellow neighborhood, mother earth gardens is the perfect spot for someone with a green organic thumb. Nice selection of plants, pots, and garden décor.
I love the friendly staff too.