We stumbled into The Growing Place on a rainy Father's Day after a farmers market left us wanting more, and walked out two hours later completely enchanted. In the rain. Nobody complained once. This is not a garden center. It is an experience. The grounds are laid out in a way that feels less like retail and more like exploration, with magical little pockets of gardens tucked throughout that pull you deeper in at every turn. Twenty six gardens maintained across the property, each one more beautiful and considered than the last. We were mesmerized, all of us, adults and kids alike, just wandering and discovering in the drizzle like we had nowhere else to be. The plant selection is exceptional with a strong emphasis on natives, which is exactly what we have been hunting for as we plan out our garden for next year. Prices are reasonable and feel fair for the quality of what they carry. But the real story here is the staff. Joanne has worked at The Growing Place for over 35 years and helps maintain those 26 gardens herself. When our daughter bought a rose bush recently Joanne spent genuine unhurried time with her, walking her through exactly how to care for it. That kind of knowledge sharing and patient generosity is rare and it is clearly baked into the culture of this place. Four generations of family ownership spanning nearly 90 years will do that. You can feel the legacy in every corner of those grounds. They also run community events and educational classes for aspiring gardeners of every level. This is a place that genuinely wants you to grow, literally and figuratively. Our new forever garden center. No question. read more

Lots of seasonally varietal flowers Safely, Zero vegetables Excellent service by all White American females, sero diversity Us Minorities know how to grow gardens better than anyone!! read more

We went for their Garlic & Cider event and were pleasantly surprised how nice this Garden Center was. Their plants looked healthy and they offered a great variety. This is a family owned business with a very knowledgeable staff. They also have a nice gift shop selling garden and home accents and containers. Thru out the year they offer classes and tours as well as seasonal events. The Garlic & Cider event was smaller than we expected with only a handful of vendors. We did end up buying a few succulents plus they gave us a FREE mint plant. With 2 locations, Aurora and Naperville..they have grown into a garden oasis for everyone! read more

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Disappointed in the service here. We were planning on making several purchases but left empty-handed due to unwelcoming behavior from a staff member towards us and our children. There are better ways to be proactive without being presumptuous and condescending. I cannot recommend this as a family-friendly garden center. read more

Best plants, friendly knowledgeable staff, and beautiful surroundings! Plus free classes!

I love the winter arrangements here, they are so pretty! They have tons of garden supplies and an indoor shop of decorations. If you sign up for their email list, you can hear about the classes they offer. This includes gardening classes, winter arrangements, fall wreaths, etc. I took the fall succulent wreath class. It was so fun, resourceful, and creative! read more

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WOWW, this garden center is by far one of the most impressive places I visited. The staff were friendly and helpful. The center is huge and whatever you want or never thought of they have it. They have me a plant guide, that is so helpful. I will continue to travel 20 miles, whenever I need anything. Home depot and the smaller garden centers, thank you, but you are now in the past. I visited the NAPERVILLE location. read more

When I asked their trees/shrubs department for help caring for and maintaining shrubs I bought there years ago they essentially blew me off- not nicely. The woman I talked to was rude and asked if it was an "emergency." Well, no, I never said it was, nor did I demand an immediate answer. I simply emailed the question and followed up 3 days later. They responded and told me to ask the Morton Arboretum. Nice. Last time I buy from them. read more

This place is beautiful, set up so nicely, just like your in someones garden, , plants are put in rows on elevated shelves allowing easy observation, every plant is labeled and has a care description even a novice gardener( like muah) can understand, annuals, perennials, trees, they have an abundance of everything, with a really large variety of Rose plants. Within the grounds are small buildings that house floral products and garden ornaments, even fairy garden miniatures. The staff is very helpful and friendly almost gave me the impression they are there voluntarily to keep up with their personal garden and tend the nurseries permanent plants, which by way are so well displayed, its enjoyable to just do a walk through and take a breather! Impressed,,, read more

The Growing Place Garden Center - Nurseries & Gardening Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

Beautiful annuals and perennials. Super service. We have been a customer for over 10 years.

I have heard about this place from my garden club and I was in the area so decided to stop by. Gorgeous! What a beautiful garden center. So well designed. I loved that they had areas of planting in the ground where you could view everything planted and how they looked with others. The selection was incredible, such unique plants. I loved that they had house plants as well. I left with quite a treasure trove. I will be back for sure. The prices are a little higher than other places I felt BUT the quality and upkeep of these plants seems way more superior than any other places I have been to. You can tell everything is well taken care of. Dead leaves seemed pruned, everything was properly watered and staff was nice. Well done! read more

Love this place. I spent $400 there but it worth it. I am very happy to grow all my flowers in my garden. read more

I went with my son for the first time and we really liked it, it's pretty big garden and little bit pricey too.. we will definitely go back again. read more

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We went for pumpkin palooza! Wow let's start with the location just gorgeous, beautifully and creatively arranged ! The service was phenomenal, every associate was friendly and seemed very happy to be there! The selection of products was great, a little pricey on the stuff not the plants... but it's not Wal-Mart so I get it! We went on the hay ride, painted pumpkins, built pumpkin race cars, we didn't do the pump succulent, we wanted to! They had gigantic pumpkins all decorated and we got to vote for our favorites! The scavenger hunt was adorable! So glad I seen this event and will definitely be switching my garden center ! read more

Great service and love the variety of flowers. I wanted false indigo and looked everywhere and couldn't find it. Called them and they said they have many varieties. I was so happy to see at least 5 colors. read more

Just like another person noted here -it is a pleasant outdoor garden environment. Most certainly, enjoyable to visit for people who like outdoors. Some staff members are nice, and some are mean as hell. Make you feel like you are shopping at Walmart, while the prices this place charges is surely prime. God help you if you have to return something too on rare occasion -they will examine you like a criminal and instead of apologetic will be grumpy about it. Aurora place is much meaner than Naperville. Basically -I used to spend a ton of $ there a few years ago, and after some experiences of bad customer service, we only go to look and specifically make a point of not buying not encourage such bad customer service with our patronage. read more

Went there for a mosaic pumpkin class today. Regretfully the teacher of the class left sick and it was canceled at the last minute. No reflection on the growing place as she had just rented the space from them. They were so accommodating and gave all of us a big beautiful mum plant complementary. . Hopefully the teacher will refund our money! read more

The Growing Place Garden Center - Nurseries & Gardening Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

Wonderful first experience. Such a fun place to wander around and look! Everyone was patient and helpful. I even found some plants that were discounted for my growing garden! I will be back for sure. read more

Management does not honor their plant warranty! I purchased over 200 perennials here this season -of which 3 failed. Receipt states a credit for purchase price if plant fails within the first growing season. I brought the 3 plants back and the manager said it was my fault, that I either "over-watered or under-watered them" (her exact wordso would only give me a partial credit for the plants. If I was neglecting my plants, then why would only a couple of them have failed?? And if they're going to blame the customer, why have a plant warranty at all? You've made an avid gardener and good customer very angry. I will give other garden centers my future business. Amendment to my review: upon calling the store and speaking to the actual store manager (not the floor manager), I was given credit for the failed plants in accordance with their warranty. Thank you the Growing Place. read more

Yes, they are pricier than buying from someone's yard sale or the local grocery but there are several things you will find here that you can't elsewhere: 1. An amazing selection of everything, Flowers, shrubs, free lectures, furnishings, anything and everything for the garden, worm castings, etc. I love my Grape Bubblegum Irises and giant Allium. 2. People who know gardening. Occassionally there is a 20 something here who doesn't know much but look for the seasoned, weathered gardening men and women, they are chock full of info. 3. Amazingly healthy plants. With the exception of bad advice to dig something up at the end of season from an aforementioned 20something, I have never had a plant die from here, be diseased, etc. Now, the bad part, my average tab here is $200-400. But you do get coupons if you enter their savings program (free to you) for $25 off. I like this location better than the Plank Road Naperville location personally because of the layout, more roomy. read more

The service at the Growing Place is great! The first time I went, one of the staff helped me for about 15 minutes. I was looking for plants to put in a particularly wet part of my lawn (at least it's wet when we don't have a drought). I was looking at the water plants, when I was informed that what I really want is wet tolerant plants. The difference is that water plants expect water all the time, while wet tolerant plants can handle both wet and dry spells (not too dry). I've since spent a good deal of money there, which I'm sure will continue next spring. They can be a bit pricey compared to the big box home centers, but the service and quality of the plants make up for it. Here are a few tips to save a few bucks. 1. Purchase perennials in the fall. They'll go on deep discounts (up to 50%), but you will be limited to what's left (many of the late blooming perennials). 2. Sign up for their rewards club. They keep track of how much you spend and send you gift certificates when you hit milestones. It keeps accumulating over the years, doesn't expire, and each certificate steps up in value (first is $5, second is $10 and goes up to $40 before it starts over at $5). 3. Sign up for the email newsletter. They'll send you coupons each week. read more

They are preventing you from seeing the plants before you buy them and in some instances what they give you are already half dead, not looking at all what you see in their email. They should let people walk through the stands as they did in the past. When you call them to let them know that you did not get a healthy plant, they tell you to come back instead of giving me a refund. The idea of a refund did not cross the employee's mind. The customer service really sucks right now. If they cared about business, they would let customers park, walk around, look and check plants like they did in the past. This business is either open and people should be able to walk around and check the plants they are considering or they should not say they are open. They should put customers first and putting customers first means customers should be able to roam around the grounds and inspect plants before putting in their cart and paying. read more

Wow just wow. This place is huge, organized, and family friendly. My wife and i stumbled on it by accident and we will be back. They have everything and done so in a very creative way! Nice job! read more

I love going to this place for the choices it offers & the knowledgeable staff. Prices a bit high. I expect to pay a bit more for the service & quality - but almost 100% higher to big box retailers can be considered a bit steep... The thing that gets me is no warranty! A home Depot or Menards will guarantee their plants / trees for 1 year, not so here; rewards program isn't very rewarding overall - please consider adjusting your policies. Thank you read more

My husband and I have recently gone to The Growing Place, and have had the best experience! The staff is so friendly and helpful. We went thinking we knew what we wanted but needed some help. Andrea, went above and beyond with the help. She is so very knowledgeable and easy to deal with. We are not the best with plants and she sent us in the right direction. We were very pleased with our purchase! read more

Incredible selection. However, prices are high and return policy stricter than at big box stores.

Was excited to show my mother this nursery during her annual birthday visit, as she is an avid gardener, and is preparing to do landscaping on our family's vacation home...Instead, I was shocked at the disrespectful and unprofessional manner in which we were treated by one of the staff. What started off as something relaxing ended up being so inhospitable. Truly disappointing, and shameful to those who seemed to work hard to make the experience welcoming. read more

I like going here because it's beautiful and has wonderful selections of plants, but the employees, in my opinion, are not very friendly. Several individuals appear to be very bothered when I need assistance or would like to ask questions. I did not get a name, but one gentleman was super helpful. I'll keep coming because I love it here, but I hope the employees are nicer and more accommodating. read more

My favorite place to escape. I especially love it when they have live music and classes. Great garden center with a really friendly team. Nice variety of healthy plants. read more

Today I went to The Growing Place and I was amazed. You can tell the workers have put SO much energy into making it a safe environment to shop. Everyone, including workers, had masks on, and practiced social distancing. That didn't stop the workers from asking if we needed help. They were very friendly, helpful and willing to answer all the questions I had. They have such beautiful flowers, veggies, trees, planters, garden decorations and much more! I would highly recommend this place!!! Thank you everyone at the Growing Place for making this place a wonderful garden center to shop at! I'll be back!! read more

Beautiful selection and nice display gardens. I like how each item is labeled and contains useful information. Very helpful service.

I went there today may 23 at 6:30 p.m. , I bought plants and as I approach the cashier and ask her very nice " can I ask advice if I can plant them together? The cashier was so disrespectful and mean and she said go and find somebody that work with plant I'm a CASHIER she replied in a mean way and she said "it's like cashier in jewels they don't know what steak is. And I told her that's ok thank you anyway. I don't know but you guys just lost a costumer that can spend thousands of thousands of dollars sometimes people need to be nice and don't be so mean, PLEASE RESPECT YOUR COSTUMERS BECAUSE WITHOUT US YOU WILL NOT SUCCEED. read more

I'm updating my review. It's funny how the manager of this place sends the exact same apology to everyone. It's like an automatic prewritten one. Saying she'll speak with her staff and how sorry she is. However within the last 2 weeks you've had two of the same complaints! Myself and Victoria S. Who mentioned she could have spent a lot of money at your place. Which is the same situation as myself. I'm redoing all of my landscaping. Needed new plants, scrubs, and a few trees. You have extremely rude employees. And why don't you just admit your not actually going to do anything about it. Well I ended up giving the few thousands I spent on landscaping to your competition Schaefer's Greenhouse. I shouldn't call them your competition. They know how to run a business and how to hire polite, helpful employees. Something your little business lacks to the fullest. read more

I just Love this place! I Love the way the plants/gardens are displayed and the awesome selection of garden decorations.

This is probably my favorite garden center around. The staff is super friendly and it is a beautiful place. Way to go Growing place!! 5 out of 5 stars! read more

I'm a fan. I've been here a couple times already this year. It's kind of relaxing and fun. They have a good selection of plants, both flowering and eating varieties. Many of the more common items are no more than what you'd spend at a big box type store, and the quality is great. Even when it's busy, it's not really crowded. I'll be back! read more

They have a great selection of perennials and really nice help. I seem to have a green thumb. Purchased 9 perennials and only 3 survived. They were all suppose to be hardy. This is the second time I have had this experience with there perennials. I do not have this problem with the hardware stores plants and they stand behind them for a year. read more

Very helpful! Went in to find 6 matching plants - found them in minutes and the plants were 50% off! Kathy was very helpful. Quick, efficient! They loaded my car for me. Overall outstanding service! Will be returning! read more

The quality and selection of plants is superior to other nurseries in the area. The staff is extremely knowledgeable and eager to provide guidance and direction on plant selection. I've been going here for years and recommend The Growing Place to my neighbors. read more