The Growing Place Nursery & Flower Farm, Inc

In the children’s classic «The Secret Garden», author Frances Hodgson Burnett said «If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.» At The Growing Place, it feels like the whole world is indeed a garden. Come to this patch of paradise and find a bench even if you don’t intend to buy. –but be warned, if you’re like me, you’ll still end up buying.
This is not a Lowe’s or a Home Depot even if it has the words «garden center» in the name. It’s a garden. A garden where you can purchase the beautiful things you see. They have pots in every color and in every size and the plants and flowers are a plenty. –The selection is HUGE! I used to endlessly search for beautiful plants and pots before my neighbor told me to come here. Now, I wouldn’t even consider going elsewhere. With the selection and a staff who can answer all of my questions, it’s my first stop.
Do you know what you also won’t get at a super center? Someone who’ll come to your house and help you figure out which plants will do best in which spots! Um… very helpful! For only $ 100 (for an hour) and $ 40 per half hour after that, one of their design team members will walk the area with you and discuss your landscaping goals. You will receive personalized notes on:
How to work with your problem areas.
Design solutions and plant recommendations.
Plant health care, identification and maintenance instructions.
Gardening techniques, tips and solutions.
A rough sketch of the area and/​or notes of plant placement and spacing.
Handouts on topics discussed and links to resources.
A coupon towards a one-​time plant purchase.
If I knew more about plants, I’d actually love to work here. But since I should not be giving plant advice to anybody…

Huge selection, but plants no better than anywhere else. We’ve been gardeners for 25+ years. This is the third year we’ve bought something there that they told us was hearty and would have no issues. All three years the items died. All three years we came back when they first started looking bad and asked what to do. All three years they told us just wait it out. In every case, the next season they died and now Growing Place says they won’t take them back or refund them. We’ve bought at Lowe’s, Home Depot and even Jewel and for half the price, had better results.

Great selection of plants, lovely displays to see. The kids loved looking at the miniature gardens. The staff is very helpful, answering questions and offering advice.

The Growing Place is a Naperville staple. It’s been around since 1936 when it was Emma’s Perennials and Rich and Carol Massat took over in 1973. In 1976 it became The Growing Place. It’s been family owned and operated since then.
TGP is a beautiful place. They have carefully selected annuals, perennials, trees, and shrubs. The have a fabulous perennial selection with items you can’t find elsewhere. I highly recommend either the Naperville or Aurora locations as both are equally as nice.

I can’t say enough about how much I love this place! It is so lovely and serene, they should call it «The Secret Garden» or «Garden of Zen»! Seriously, even if you don’t need anything other than a quiet place to de-​stress, I would tell you to come here and spend some time — you’ll feel like you stepped into another world. But if you need some gardening goods, this is definitely where you need to be!
The selection is stellar, and you can get tons of ideas just by checking out the various «gardens». Got a place that floods a lot from rain or your sump-​pump? Cool — check out the marsh garden. Got an area with crap dirt and no sun? Not a problem — check out the dry shade garden. The settings go on and on, and If you’re like me, you might end up wishing for a bigger yard or some problem areas just so you could buy some of the cool and unusual examples.
The staff is über helpful (how you like my umlaut? ;) If you sign up for the newsletter you get coupons and great gardening tips; and if you sign up for the rewards program, you earn freebies. OH — and they have a HUGE selection of fountains and yard ornaments — I love coming here for gift shopping. They even have classes and events — many of which are free; the newsletter will keep you up to date on what’s being offered.
Every once in a while I wince a little at the prices, but this is what I’ve learned over years of shopping around: the plants are well-​established, they come with guarantees, they don’t have a bunch of bugs, and they’re often things you won’t find anywhere else. After checking out a lot of nurseries through Groupon and/​or doing the sales at the big box places, I’ve come to appreciate the level of quality & variety I find at The Growing Place — not to mention the ambiance & service! I feel like the prices are well-​worth what I get here.
«Take my money — please!!»

I can’t say I know much about gardening, but the friendly staff here make me feel like my thumb could conceivably be green. The consultation service was worth the 80 bucks to help us set up a rain garden. I’m never going to find outdoor work as stimulating as reading, but if I need a magnolia bush, this is where I’m going.

Been coming here three seasons Ina row and enjoy it more every time. The selection of everything is very nicely curated — a thoughtful selection of trees, shrubs, an interesting mix of garden ornaments and urns, and the requisite wild array of annuals and vegetables.
The setting is delightful, winding among the different scenes as you climb the gentle hill it feels like a walk in a beautiful home garden — cleverly laid out and lush but not fussy.
We have been helped by staff in trees and ornaments and we’re really pleased each time with the advice and accommodations we got. Especially appreciated the person who stopped us from purchasing a little shrub because it wasn’t the best, and they called us with new stock a couple days later and it was so much better!
The staff helping loading cars is also the nicest bunch of young men you’ll meet. Cordial, friendly, genuine, they are careful with your new purchases and your car.

Excellent nursery!!! I only had thirty minutes but still enjoyed every last second!!! Can’t wait til I can go back!
The staff were also quite helpful and gave my husband and I some really good ideas!
I also just loved the selection! There were SOOO many choices for plants! I wanted to take them all!!!:)
Can’t wait until I can go back!:)

Beautifully displayed, quality plants. An abundance of friendly, knowledgeable staff.
They make me want to dig up my whole yard!

If I ran a retail business I would be proud if I could model it after The Growing Place.
Not only do they offer good, healthy plants, the customer service is fabulous.
Everyone we’ve encountered has been very willing to help in a friendly, supportive way. We initially went in to get some ideas for redoing our front and back yard. We decided to have a consultant (Julie) come to the house and make recommendations.
Once we started talking with her we realized how beneficial it would be to have her draw a plan. She was a fountain of knowledge which she shared freely.
We initially didn’t think we needed a plan but we are very glad we did. Doing so saved us enough money that we could afford to do both the front and rear yards this year instead of making it a 2 – 3 year project. We more than got our money’s worth from her. I highly recommend getting some advice from their advisors and maybe working up a personalized a plan too.
With the plan, we were able to do a lot of the work ourselves and with our lawn mowing service. We did have their contractor install the plants — and he and his crew did a great job there too. I highly recommend letting them install them. They worked with us to position the plants exactly where we wanted them and then they planted them in a professional manner.
Some years ago we bought some plants from them and a couple of those plants died. They replaced them with no hassle at all, even though we didn’t know for sure why the plants didn’t make it. They really stand behind their work.

I just bought a house, and am currently in the process of dealing with the ridiculously overgrown … everything. The bushes in front were in danger of swallowing me whole when I walked by they were so out of control, which lead to chopping them down, getting the stumps ground out, and buying some new plants to put in there.
Being totally overwhelmed with the choices at places like Home Depot in their garden centers, I figured I needed someone who knew what they were talking about to tell me what plants would look good in front of my house. This lead me to The Growing Place’s $ 50 in-​store «landscape coaching» hoping they’d help demystify the process.
The coaching was… alright. On the phone they stressed all this stuff we needed to bring including all these photos which must be printed out and must be in color. Additionally, you need all your measurements. So, I took a ton of photos, went to Walgreens and dropped $ 10 getting them all printed out, and when we got there the designer wasn’t even interested in them and worked entirely off the measurements we had, basically wasting an hour of my time and some cash putting it all together.
Then, from there, the area in front of my house was apparently too big to do in one session… Which was a little confusing because I’ve got a small house and basically just needed a recommendation for like six bushes, and both sides could even be the same. The web site is super unclear in regards to how big or small of an area they’ll do, and the people on the phone seemed fine with what I mentioned needing done, so… Weird.
In the end, she ended up doing both sides of my doorway, but I feel like they really need to iron out what exactly is included in this coaching session so everyone’s expectations are in check. If they just would’ve stated somewhere that you get one 5×10 area sketched out, I would’ve been like «Oh, alright, cool.» Instead, the only real qualifier is that you get an hour of their time. I would’ve been pretty annoyed to take the trip out there to only get half what I wanted done.
So overall, the experience wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. I ended up buying a bunch of stuff, as you get a $ 30 off $ 150 coupon, so the coaching effectively cost $ 20. The garden center itself is really nice, and their plants have good guarantees. Of course it’s in Naperville, so it feels like you’re paying Naperville prices and a good chunk of your cash goes to how well curated the place is.
The people who work there randomly wandering around are super helpful, which makes me wonder if I couldn’t have basically gotten the same thing the coaching service offered just by showing people my phone and getting plant recommendations without all the fuss of printing photos, making appointments, and being roped in to spending $ 150 for the coupon.

I love this place. I have recently begun renewing my original landscaping and am adamant about incorporating native and wildlife friendly plants. This place fits the bill. I am an avid birder and the more that stop by in my yard the happier I am.
I have never been disappointed with my purchases or the selection they carry. Any questions I had or plants that I was looking for help was quickly available. This is my go to spot for hard to find items. Most big box stores carry the same old things which are not natives and do nothing for the ecosystem.

I love this place! I come here to The Growing Place with my family all the time. They take the best care of their plants, and their plants are the healthiest plants I’ve ever seen at a store. The employees are always so helpful and knowledgeable about the plants they have. It is very reassuring that they are able to answer all my questions or that they can help me find what I’m looking for based on what I need. This is probably the only place I will go for plants from now on.

So impressed with this place… it almost makes me feel like I have a green thumb!
Ok I really don’t know what I am doing but having recently acquired a yard, I have to figure it out fast! The location & facility of the Growing Place itself is so inspirational. They have planted various gardens showcasing shade perennials, full sun perennials, a miniature garden, and more. It’s actually so relaxing just strolling thru the gardens that you almost forget that it is a garden nursery where you buy your potted plants. The gardens help you imagine what possibilities you could have with your own yard! Now I was seeing a light at the end of the weedy tunnel!
Even better, we had one of their consultants Julie come over to our house to give us some ideas of what to plant based on our preferences, lifestyle and sun/​shade in yard. She identified the weeds and gave advice on maintaining, pruning, and design.

This place is amazing! I’ve been coming here over the years to help my parents with their garden. Now that my husband and I have our own yard, we were excited to stop by The Growing Place to get started on our transformation.
The staff was extremely helpful and very friendly. We explained what type of garden we were going for and they walked us through the whole place (which is quite large) to show us the many, many options we could choose. They answered all of our questions, and even came back to us when they had another idea for our garden after we had parted ways. They also offer guarantees on their perennials and shrubs/​trees. Which made us feel better since we are first time gardeners
We are Growing Place converts and will definitely be going back next year, and most likely again later this summer.

I finally got here last summer on a Sunday after church, as I was going back home. The place is much larger than it first seems from the street. There’s actually quite a bit of parking.
They laid out the various plants by type, so shadier plants are under the shade of some lovely old trees. It’s such a lovely time to come and walk through. Everything is lovingly and carefully arranged. All the plants are in perfect condition when you buy them. All the staff is über helpful and ready to find an answer to your questions.
Take advantage of the green carts-​you never know how much you’ll like and decide to buy until you’re walking around. Those carts are light and easy to maneuver, and come in so handy!
I think this is the best place to come if you’re a green thumb newbie, like me, or an experienced wisened old gardener who knows their stuff.
They host amazing and fun events, so check their calendar online or flyers at the checkout.

This is my happy place. I love coming here on a pretty day simply to wander about and look at everything.
The Growing Place is 4.5 acres large and the nursery is divided into sections of perennials for shade, perennials for sun, vines & groundcovers, native plants, trees & shrubs, annuals, miniature plants (for fairy gardens), vegetables & fruits (in season). They carry a broader variety of spring and fall bulbs than is typically available in big box stores. You can also find a few seeds — from the Seed Savers Exchange, no less — tucked away in the Gift Shop. I currently have heirloom rutabagas grown from seeds purchased there that I’m just about to harvest.
Though you’ll pay more than at big box stores, you’ll find varieties here that simply aren’t available at big box stores. Perennials are likely to be bigger too. I think the prices are generally reasonable for the size and quality of plants received.
They have a large offering of tomatoes in spring: heirlooms & hybrids; grape, cherry, beefsteak & everything in between; red, green, yellow, orange, brown, and striped. Don’t wait too late in the season to come make your selection. Favorites sell out fast! The Growing Place has an especially large collection of herbs too. It’s one of the few places I can find chervil plants.
The Growing Place sells a range of attractive planters and garden ornaments for big and little gardens. These are scattered throughout The Growing Place’s display gardens so you can get an idea of how a particular ornament might look once you get it home. The display gardens also help you see how certain plants will look in your garden once established.
I have never been to The Growing Place when there was a shortage of employees. It’s always easy to find someone to assist you. Everyone seems knowledgeable too. And if you ask a question out of one employee’s area of expertise, they will find someone else on the staff who has the expertise to answer your question.
I think it’s worth your while to seek out The Growing Place.

When it comes to gardening I need all the help I can get. The staff at the growing place is extremely friendly and knowledgeable. They can help you select plants that will do well depending upon if you need sun or shade plants. The have a huge selection of annuals, perennials, vegetables, herbs, trees, shrubs and garden accessories. The quality of their plants is outstanding and is backed up with a one year guarantee. They are very busy on the weekends but they have a decent amount of parking.

My God… this place is huge and has it all (including a play area for the kids who get bored looking at plants with their parents). It’s almost like walking through the Chicago Botanic Gardens, but with everything for sale.
The selection is huge, the employees are friendly and knowledgeable, and the prices, while higher than what you’d probably pay at Home Depot, are not that bad. I wish I had known about this place sooner.

O.M.G. where do I even start. This place is amazing!!!
They have so many different types of plants here. For example, they must have 20 – 25 different varieties of clematis plants. It is different than any other garden center that I have been to. They have sections where they actually plant the items that they have in the nursery so you can see how the plants look when they are with other plants and when they grow bigger. This also gives you a ton of ideas about how to plant things.
Just go here and walk around — it’s a beautiful place and I could spend hours here.
The staff here is super friendly and they know their stuff. You can tell they are also passionate about flowers and plants.
I only wish this place was closer… or maybe not because I’d spend my entire paycheck here.