Best Of

Best Garden Centers In Minnesota

March 1, 2016 / 7:00 AM CST / CBS Minnesota

We usually think of the warm months as the best time to plant seeds and put down shrubbery. But many beautiful gardens are also cultivated indoors year-round. If you maintain an outdoor garden, some experts say the best time to plan for seeds, soil and tools is during the winter. However these nurseries, greenhouses and garden supply centers have the things you need to keep your indoor or outdoor garden growing.

Bachman's Floral Gift & Garden
6010 Lyndale Ave., S.
Minneapolis, MN 55419
(866) 222-4626
www.bachmans.com

Bachman's has acres of everything for the dedicated gardener: shrubbery, greenery, supplies, how-to gardening videos, gardening solutions and gardening workshops. Every gardener, whether a green thumb hobbyist or landscape professional, needs fertilizer, tools, seeds, soil, mulch and watering supplies. If you need landscaping services, Bachman's has landscape experts. The garden and gift shop has décor and charming accessories to make your garden a pleasurable space. Bird lovers can accent their garden homes with bird houses and feeders. Miniature gardens can show off their charm with items such as an arched door and a ceramic bunny to greet the guests. You can also buy outdoor furniture. If your garden attracts toads and frogs, shelter them under a toad home. Bachman's hardly leaves any stone unturned with multiple Twin Cities locations. The gift and garden center also ships flora, fauna and other home and garden goods to customers outside of Minnesota.

Tonkadale Greenhouse
3739 Tonkawood Road
Minnetonka, MN 55345
(952) 938-6480
www.tonkadale.com

From the Tonkadale Greenhouse point of view, winter is the best time to plan for spring and summer gardening. As part of every new year, fun things a good gardener must do are soil testing, planting edible produce and improving the garden's sustainability. Most importantly, they must learn new ways to garden, such as growing plants that require little irrigation. Tonkadale has tips for keeping indoor plants pest free during the winter. The greenhouse has plants, flowers and gardens for every season and every occasion. Its miniature landscapes, called fairy gardens, make charming secret gardens that enchant garden lovers of all ages.

Tangletown Gardens
5353 Nicollet Ave., S.
Minneapolis, MN 55419
(612) 822-4769
www.tangletowngardens.com

In the shopping district of Twin Cities, Tangletown Gardens is an oasis for city and country gardeners and home and garden admirers. Its garden center is a fiesta of unusual perennial and aquatic plants, shrubbery, flowers and heirloom vegetables. The garden center is full of tools and remedies to keep flora and fauna healthy. This means pest control and carefully tested soil and fertilizers. All produce for Tangletown's CSA share program is grown sustainably at its 100-acre farm and greenhouse facility near Plato.

Dundee Nursery & Landscaping
16800 Highway 55
Plymouth, MN 55446
(763) 559-4016
www.dundeenursery.com

During the holidays, Dundee Nursery has nearly every holiday tree imaginable; along with trees are planters and wreaths that sustain and complement. Dundee has some of the best and hardiest trees and shrubs. Its assortment of lilacs, fruit trees, azaleas, evergreens and low maintenance shrubs are strikingly ornamental. Dundee has hand and yard tools for nursery and landscaping projects. Also in store are essential gardening supplies such as soil, mulches, herbicides and pesticides. The company has a staff of gardening experts and landscape designers to provide and assist with maintenance and decorating solutions. Do-it-yourself gardeners will enjoy reading the Grow How blog.

Gardens of Rice Creek, LLC
1315 66th Ave., N.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55432
(763) 242-5009
www.gardensofricecreek.com

You choose the plants and the type of garden you want. Gardens of Rice Creek will do the gardening and landscape work. This landscaping company has a nursery of rare plants that grow beautifully in Minnesota. Alpines, ruby carpet sedums, lavender, cactus and other plants lend texture, hardiness and color to every garden. Minnesota's state flower is the lady slipper. Woodland gardens are the perfect place to cultivate these bulb shaped white and pink-purple flowers. In mid-June, the growing beds at Gardens of Rice Creek are a spectacular sight, full of lady slippers in full bloom.

Linda Cameron has written home design, home improvement and lifestyle articles for The Boston Globe and City Shopper Magazine. She has related interests in the building industry, travel, real estate and financing. She is a contributor to Examiner, House Spot, Techsling and Behance, covering topics on career, people, businesses, education and technology.