Gethsemane Gardens

What Gethsemane Gardens does

Gethsemane Gardens, legally presented in the supplied company record as Gethsemane Garden Center, is a family-owned physical garden center founded in 1977. It operates one main store at 5739 North Clark Street in Chicago and serves residential home gardeners, plant enthusiasts, and a secondary segment of local gardens, schools, and community organizations. The company describes itself as Chicago's largest year-round independent garden center; that positioning is self-described rather than independently verified.

Merchandise spans annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs, herbs, vegetables, houseplants, seeds, soils, amendments, tools, pest-control products, statuary, fountains, home decor, and gifts. It also sells custom containers and faux floral arrangements and offers local delivery, repotting, pot drilling, and gardening workshops. Christmas trees and holiday products create a pronounced seasonal merchandising cycle.

Revenue comes primarily from one-time in-store retail transactions, with additional transaction fees for delivery, professional-service fees for custom work, and gift-certificate sales. Go-to-market is mainly direct to consumer through the store, appointments, special orders, events, workshops, email and SMS, and organic social media. A limited e-commerce layer supports online ordering of select houseplants and gift certificates with in-store pickup or local delivery; the supplied technology record shows no app, API, SDK, or proprietary AI system.

Name

Gethsemane Gardens

Legal name

Gethsemane Garden Center

Website

https://gethsemanegardens.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Gethsemane Gardens is a family-owned Chicago garden center serving residential gardeners and local organizations with plants, gardening supplies, decor, gifts, delivery, and plant-care services through one retail location and limited e-commerce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Garden Center & Nursery

NAICS

Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (444240)

SIC

Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply (5200)

akta.pro primary industry

Plants, Seeds & Nursery Retail (Garden Centers) (CRAIAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Container Gardening Design, Planting & Maintenance (HSAIAFAN), Seasonal Color & Flower Rotation (Spring/Fall Plantings) (HSAIAFAE), Garden Bed Installation & Planting (Annuals, Perennials, Shrubs) (HSAIAFAB)

Keywords

• Retail garden center
• Garden nursery plants
• Landscape supplies retail
• Houseplants and tropicals
• Gardening workshops classes

Headquarters

HQ city

Kankakee, Illinois

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Plant & Garden Product Sales: The primary revenue stream — customers purchase plants, soil, tools, fertilizers, pesticides, statuary, home decor, and gift items directly in-store. The company also sells select houseplants and gift certificates through its e-commerce storefront with in-store pickup or local delivery.
2. Delivery Services: Delivery throughout Chicagoland with fees determined by zip code. Customers can arrange plant and hard goods delivery by phone or in-person. Christmas tree delivery is a notable seasonal delivery service.
3. Custom Container Design: Custom container planting services for annuals, herbs, vegetables, and faux floral arrangements, created in-house by staff. Customers can order fully custom designs or choose from pre-made seasonal drop-in containers.
4. Gift Certificates: Custom letterpress-printed gift certificates sold in fixed denominations ($10–$1,000) or any custom amount. Gift certificates never expire and are redeemed in-store.
5. Repotting & Pot Drilling Services: Specialty repotting services (including orchids, cacti, and delicate or toxic plants) and pot drilling for drainage, priced by pot size.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Gethsemane Gardens operates a year-round independent retail garden center in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood, selling plants (annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs, houseplants, herbs, vegetables, seeds, bulbs), garden hard goods (soils, tools, fertilizers, pesticides), statuary and fountains, home decor, and gifts through the Wild Pansy Gift Shop. The business complements its retail assortment with custom container planting, local delivery throughout Chicagoland, repotting and pot drilling, faux floral arrangements, gift certificates, and seasonal gardening workshops and community events.

Product overview

Gethsemane Garden Center is a physical garden center and retail nursery (not a software platform), serving Chicago's gardening needs since 1977. Its product and service portfolio spans multiple departments organized around plant categories and gardening needs: a Greenhouse department offering houseplants (orchids, tropicals, succulents, ZZ plants, snake plants, pothos, bromeliads, air plants, bonsai, citrus trees, terrariums); an Annuals department with seasonal flowering plants and custom containers; a Perennials department; a Trees & Shrubs department with landscaping specimens and a one-year warranty; a Herbs, Vegetables & Fruits department with edible plants and custom containers; a Seeds & Bulbs department (carrying Hudson Valley Seed Co., Botanical Interests, Seed Savers); a Soil, Mulches & Amendments department; a Pesticides & Herbicides department; a Statuary & Fountains department (with delivery and installation); a Home Decor department (including custom faux silk flower arrangements); and the Wild Pansy Gift Shop (offering jewelry, Jellycat plushies, bags, books, home goods). Additional services include delivery throughout Chicagoland, custom container planting, gardening workshops (Plant Care 101, Terrarium, Bog Garden, Kokedama) in partnership with Rainbow City Gardens, repotting and pot drilling, and Gift Certificates (letterpress-printed, never expiring, $10–$1,000). The company also hosts seasonal events (Spring Fling, Sidewalk Sale, Holiday Open House) and publishes educational gardening guides.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Local Family-Run Growers & GreenhousescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMany plants are custom grown by local family-owned growers, with some growing exclusively for Gethsemane. Fresh shipments of tropicals arrive weekly from small family-run growers in Florida and California. Christmas trees are sourced from family farms in North Carolina and Michigan. This supplier relationship is central to Gethsemane's differentiation and product exclusivity.
• Rainbow City GardenscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGethsemane partners with Rainbow City Gardens to offer free workshops on gardening topics from planting to harvest. Rainbow City Gardens provides workshop instructors and curriculum, complementing Gethsemane's retail and customer base.
• Hudson Valley Seed Co.minorOthersHudson Valley Seed Co. seeds are stocked at Gethsemane as part of the seed department. Additional seed brands carried include Botanical Interests, Seed Savers Exchange, and Cornucopia Seeds.
• Botanical InterestsminorOthersSeed brand stocked at Gethsemane.
• Seed Savers ExchangeminorOthersSeed brand stocked at Gethsemane.
• Cornucopia SeedsminorOthersSeed brand stocked at Gethsemane.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Pike Nurseries: Multi-location independent garden center chain serving the Atlanta metro with plants, landscaping services, and educational workshops. Comparable in service mix (design, delivery, classes) and assortment breadth.
• Armstrong Garden Centers: Largest independent garden center chain in California with 30+ locations. Broader incumbent offering comparable plant, supply, and service categories at scaled retail operations; serves as a benchmark for what scaled independents can achieve.
• Calloway's Nursery: Texas-based independent garden center chain with 20+ locations across DFW, Houston, and Austin. Comparable in assortment (annuals, perennials, houseplants, trees, decor) and emphasis on expert staff and gardening education.

Direct peers

• Chalet Nursery & Garden Shop: Long-established independent garden center in Wilmette, IL serving Chicago's North Shore with a similar mix of plants, landscaping services, and educational programming. Closest direct competitor in scale, geography, and customer demographic.
• Lurvey Garden Center: Independent full-service garden center in Des Plaines, IL offering annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs, and landscaping design services to Chicagoland. Direct peer in geography, assortment breadth, and service-based revenue model.
• Platt Hill Nursery: Multi-location independent garden center in the Chicago western suburbs (Bloomingdale and Carol Stream). Comparable assortment (plants, containers, home decor, workshops) and similar scale to Gethsemane.
• Pasquesi Home & Gardens: Independent garden center with locations in Barrington and Lake Forest, IL offering plants, seasonal goods, and home decor to Chicago's affluent North Shore. Comparable mid-to-upper-tier positioning and customer base.
• City Escape Garden Center with Detention Farm: Independent garden center in Chicago's West Side offering plants, landscape design services, and seasonal events. Direct peer in urban Chicago market with comparable services-based revenue mix.

Regional players

• The Fields on Caton Farm: Independent garden center and event venue in Joliet, IL (Chicago southwest exurb). Operates in the broader Chicagoland market with a comparable assortment of plants and home decor but a more exurban, event-driven model.

Others

• Monrovia Nursery Company: National wholesale grower of premium ornamental and landscape plants; Gethsemane stocks Monrovia plants and is listed as a partner supplier on its website. Not a direct competitor but a strategic supplier ecosystem participant.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gethsemane-gardens

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gethsemane Gardens