Johnson’s Gardens

This place is under new management and possibly new ownership — not sure. I’ve spent thousands here over the past several years — on plants and in their shop. A former mgr even let me come in prior to the store opening once so that I could use coupons that were only good that day, as I wasn’t able to come in later. That kind of customer service keeps a customer coming back. But I won’t buy from them again. This year, so far, I spent at least $ 400. I took three plants back for exchange: 1) a $ 5 annual that said full sun, but died immediately when placed in the sun. No refund; no exchange. 2) a $ 15 perennial that I had planned to give as a gift bc I have two that I love. At the time I bought it, it had no leaves, but that’s normal for May. The plant, however, never showed any life despite watering it. No refund; no exchange. I was told by Lanora, the mgr, that I shouldn’t have kept it outside (??) and that it «was on me» that I didn’t take care of it. When I was purchasing my plants, I was even told by Tom, the horticulturist, that this plant COULD be kept outside from that point on. 3) a $ 34 Honeysuckle vine that, I discovered when I got home, had a few spots of powdery mold that grew into a lot of mold. This, they are attempting to exchange by bringing in another plant. Lanora was bitchy, saying «You realize you are outside the time period to return» and shoving a piece of paper with their return policy on it at me. I shoved it back and told her that it would have been helpful to receive that policy at the time of purchase. Lanora never once apologized. In addition, on the day that I made most of my purchases, I asked for some bags of potting soil, which Lanora told me were $ 10 each; however, when I got home, I realized that I had actually been charged $ 14 each for the soil. Prices are higher at JG than at other places I could go to, but I like to support local business. Sadly, apparently, that is not appreciated. Thankfully, I had not yet hired them to landscape my front yard, as I planned.
Well, Cheryl from JG just called and is making arrangements to get me another, better honeysuckle and has apologized several times. Cheryl has been there for as long as I can remember, prior to this new «manager.» I hope JG realizes how valuable someone like Cheryl is.

This past Sunday, my folks and I stopped by Johnson’s Gardens to pick out a new tree to plant in our family home’s backyard. Unfortunately, our birch tree that previously occupied the corner spot in the back had bent itself out of shape in search of sunlight, and we had to cut it down. So here we were at Johnson’s looking for a 10 – 15 feet tall tree that could thrive in the shade.
Paul helped show us around the nursery and after hearing our criteria, he steered us toward a Princess Diana Serviceberry. He was very knowledgeable, friendly, and patient with us. He also took the time to go print out a number of pictures for us, showing what the tree looks like fully grown in each of the seasons.
We had gone to several garden centers and tree nurseries prior to checking out Johnson’s, and this place had the best combination of service and quality products. The trees here were in healthy condition, grown nearby in Wisconsin (not shipped in from out of state), and they had a decent number to choose from on the lot.