Natty Garden

Yesterday evening I walked home with a sense of defeat; feeling very disappointed in the blatant disregard for customer service.
The hours posted indicate a 7pm store closing. As I was leaving work I called to confirmed at 6pm. Explained what I needed and was assured they would be open. Low and Behold, lights off and gate locked by my 6:35 arrival.
I will try again today, and would love nothing but to post something more positive.

I’ve only been here once but it was a good experience. The owner was very helpful to me, someone who knows nothing about plants! I’ll definitely go back when I’m ready to care for more life in my home.

I’m not from BK but whenever I’m in town I stop by here. it’s a little pricey (compared to where I’m from anyway) but tons of happy, sweet, and often unique plants. I can’t figure out why people don’t like the dreaded guy who works (manages?) there– i love him, have always found him very helpful with advice and plant care tips. :-)

The owner contacted me and apologized and offered me a replacement. I’ll update stars if the folks working actually hear about this and are able to provide a new plant. I love that this place exists, I just wish the customer service was better… But still want to support locally owned so that no one thinks that the big box stores are their only option.

I am totally appalled. I just called in to get an estimate for my small garden that is currently in complete shambles. Do you know what happened? The incompetent woman who answered the phone refused to give me a price range for landscaping. She insisted that I needed to come in for a consultation, even though I reside across town. I would think she would at least have asked for a picture of the garden to get an idea of what I was asking for. And so she hangs up the phone on me when I attempted to explain that to her! I immediately called back and of course, there was no answer.
Like, what the hell?! Who runs this place and where do you find your employees, the animal shelter?! In actuality, my dog has better manners so I retract that statement. Welp. You just lost a potential client (but they probably do not care at Natty Garden, based on experiences of other reviewers). I wouldn’t even take a free offer from this place at this point. Disgusting. Carry on…

They have a nice selection and reasonable prices. The manager/​owner is absolutely terrible at customer service. Everyone else who works there is helpful and professional apart from the man with the long dreadlocked hair. He is either the manager or the owner and he has ignored me before when trying to make a purchase by refusing to help me by not coming to the register, sending the message I was not welcome in his store, so I left. He has yelled at his employees in front of customers and he has refused to speak to me when checking out on several occasions. I like to support local businesses but he is so rude it is not worth it.

I have to agree with all the other negative reviews about the guy with the long dreads. He is the most ignorant person every time I go to the store. I love everything else about this place. I have no idea how this guy is still working there.
He goes out of his way to be rude and always leaves you standing at the counter while he wanders around. It’s as if you being there bothers him. He must have friends in high places as I can see no other reason why you would keep such an a hole on the payroll.

It’s a neighborhood establishment. Having said that we moved here only a year ago but this nursery sets up a nice vibe for this neighborhood. The owner is busy and is full of good useful tips. I haven’t found his other employees very helpful. So best to go to the store on quieter days. Owner can order anything and I like his super calm chill attitude – He must have lots of days away from NY. Lol

Really cute garden store. I was able to find lots of fresh herbs and I liked that they had organic options. A real neighborhood gem.

We love coming here. The guy with the long dreads helped us find an awesome plant and then suggested that we come back the next day since they were getting more in that were even healthier. i mean who does that? So nice! The prices are great — that said we’re used to Sprout in Williamsburg which is beautifully curated and wonderfully hip but a complete rip off (the exact same plant at Natty was $ 50 that was $ 100 at Sprout — I mean COME ON). So — we’re Natty loyal now even though we have to drive down. I dig the vibe and won’t miss the Sprout snob factor.

I’ve been here four times this season (and yes, would merit a poor review for my gardening skills…).
At this point the service has in my eyes gone from disconcerting to comfortingly familiar. The dude is a bit of a stoic, one might say. He is wry and seems almost amused by his customers. He has always given good advice. Just don’t expect to get an ego boost. He’s no charming manic pixie dream girl of gardening.
The selection is very diverse and I’m glad I have the opportunity to shop at a small business.

I am an avid gardener, I live in the neighborhood, and if these guys were nicer I would drop a ton of cash here, however, the dude who works there the majority of the time is a rude and miserable guy who shouldn’t work in retail! I am actually a little afraid of him! Each and every time I wait on line to pay, he finishes with the person before me, looks at me, and then walks out of the shop, leaving me there waiting to give him money. It’s weird. The last time this happened I just patiently waited and ten minutes later he came inside and HE got snappy at me accusing me of «seeming upset,» almost like he knew he was ignoring me and was waiting for me to freak out, even though I said nothing and was very respectful, attributing his behavior to being heavy laden with work tasks that day. Very strange. This business is a great asset to the community but I don’t enjoy being treated like crap when I want to spend money there. I’d rather wait for the farmers’s market on Saturdays. YOU WORK IN RETAIL, Deal with it.

This is one of my favorite places in all of Brooklyn. I’m an avid gardener and plant nerd… and it all began out of his store that was originally across the street from it’s current location three years ago. I spend a fortune here, happily, to support small business Brooklyn and his business. His plants are healthy (I’ve never purchased one that ended up sick in some way) and the environment is genuine, if a lil slow and not always engaging service. I’ve tried the nurseries in Red Hook — the herbs I bought were sick and brown within a week. I refuse to buy plants from Home Depot because I think they aren’t cared for, which too frequently makes for sick plants when they are planted which can spread to your healthy plants.
Anyway, I love this place and am proud to support his business. We even buy our Christmas trees from him!

I have frequented this delightful gem four or five times since discovering it on a stroll last spring.
1. I was looking for a small snake plant. The guy there looked inside and outside but couldn’t find one for me. I told him I wanted a hardy gift for a friend’s mom who recently gifted me with some delicious homemade food… We chatted awhile and found an Aloe plant for her kitchen! Yay! Perfect!
2. Browsed thru their extensive (for a neighborhood lil place) outside stock of pottery looking for something… a few pots for repotting… a different guy was moving stuff around and said ‘take your time– its a nice day’… Which it was! =)
3. Came by to look for a lil snake plant again… for Me… No luck…
4. Asked for advice to root a few plants. The guy recommended a gel medium. I felt very lucky– he had a small vial — rather than a 4 ounce jar or larger… And it worked like a Charm! :)
5. Yesterday, (2÷4÷15) I called to ask if they had planting medium for orchids and spathiphyllums… The guy on the phone said no… however, he may have an alternative for me… he added peace lilies (spathiphyllums) are usually fine with potting soil… I was told to use a mixture of various… things. So I strolled over and (haha) ended up chatting with the personable guy behind the counter. I walked away with a bottle of Neem Oil (I’d forgotten that I’ve been searching for that for about 3 weeks!) and… the guy Gave me a little bag of «spaghnum peat moss! (For orchids… and I may be tempted to add a bit to my spaths)
I recommend this establishment… Not only for the variety of products…(not always what I wanted, but a little trove of possibilities!)
Oddly enough, I believe each time I’ve ventured there… It was a Different guy!
I also love the… less than polished indoor and outdoor areas… it has a… comfortable, *used* feeling that’s… neighborly and grounded.
BRAVO to small businesses!!!
I removed one star, cos I dont feel I’ve been a customer long enough to give such a rating in all fairness.

Stopped in to get a few perennials and found a nice selection of plants, reasonably priced. The staff was very helpful as well.

They’re smart, they’re stocked and they’re real.
The soil price and selection is very good, as far as the outdoor variety is concerned.
The plants are a little pricey, but the quality is very good, based on what I saw today. They’re an honest to goodness organic gardening supply house, which is pretty hard to find in Brooklyn. Today was my first time there and the music inside was good, the service was helpful.

Horrible service from a man in long dreads. Took my money for a plant and pot, then when I asked for instructions, told me the pot he just sold me is bad for the plant. I returned my items. Annoying.
He also was gone for most of my visit, talking to a friend outside, despite a long line of customers.
Edit: the owner of the store has contacted me, apologizing for not being there, and asking me to return to try again. So there’s that.

Quite honestly, I was excited to come to Natty Garden to pick up some herbs, and tomato plants for the upcoming growing season. I was somewhat pleased with the selection of tomato varieties, and was fine with the ¾ bags of potting soil available… but was very dissatisfied with the service (or lack thereof). I rarely complain about service, but the man working here today was not only ignoring the three people awaiting checkout (he was too busy watering plants to step away for a moment)… but also asked the customers in front of me about the price of an item and then told them it was incorrect (that it was actually higher)– he then told them that the credit card machine wasn’t working after taking payment moments before. I was very disappointed with my overall experience.

Pretty good selection, though prices are a bit steep in general. Service is all over the place right now that its spring and the store is super busy but they’re pretty attentive when you can snag them.
They have a pretty good selection of easy to take care of plants, though many seem better suited to outdoor planting than indoor growing (with the exception of cacti/​succulents, which they have plenty of).

I finally took the plunge and decided to buy a plant for my apt. I walked over around 11:50am earlier today (Monday) — the sign said «Closed — come back at 10:00» but door was open and the mean dog was barking in the side room. I walked in, yelled out hello and no answer. We were standing by the door for maybe 2 mins max when the proprietor opened the front door.
«Don’t you read signs? It says closed.» he asked.
«Aren’t you open at 10am?» I retorted back.
«Well I’m not open today, but you can go in and look around. Hurry up though because I’m leaving soon.» he answered, then started to sweep.
After selecting my plant and pot, paying, and getting ready to walk out, more customers walked in and he stayed… despite having told us earlier that «he was leaving soon.»
So, if you don’t mind bad service (complete with attitude and maybe even a little deceit) come on in and check Natty Garden out. While they do have a decent selection of indoor/​outdoor plants, herbs, and flowers, the guy who works here will definitely NOT brighten your day. I admit that I probably shouldn’t have crossed the door’s threshold because of the «closed» sign, but hey — my fault for coming in almost 2 hours after the store is supposed to open right?
P. S. They ARE open on Mondays at 10am :)