April 1, 2022

Landscape Garden Centers’ new location is ready for customers just in time for spring.

After 45 years on Minnesota Avenue north of 85th Street, the business has moved to an 11-acre site about 1 mile south and 2 miles west.

Opening day is today, with a grand-opening event until 6 p.m.

Located at 47238 271st St., the new location features multiple buildings with distinct uses : a garden center and greenhouse, an office building with space for design meetings, a shop and a lot of extra storage.

“We’ve been very blessed,” said owner Erik Helland, whose father, Phil, started the business in 1977. “We started this three years ago and are finishing getting everything ready for the grand opening, and I think it’s going to an amazing site.”

There’s more than twice the parking as the previous location, and the overall campus is laid out more efficiently, he added.

“And the flow will be simpler,” Helland said. “The experience is a big deal. We want it to be a positive experience, so they want to come back.”

The total footprint is twice as big, and the merchandise mix has been adapted.

“We do not carry any home furnishings. Everything has to be related to a plant,” Helland said. “So it can hold a plant, enhance the plant, and we’ve added some cool things.”

It’s a move that’s seemingly on trend as consumers are embracing plants, he said.

“Plants in general are just soaring. We had one or two days left at the old site and probably 40 to 50 plants left, so we sent out a (Facebook) post and said it will be open from 2 to 4 p.m., and they started lining up at 1:30 p.m. and bought everything,” Helland said. “It’s something people can take care of and nurture, it’s positive, and I think that’s what it’s going to continue to be.”

The garden center includes a prominent reuse of part of the old location in the ceiling and other decor. Look closely, and you’ll see the Landscape Garden logo in it.

With the adjacent office building, customers can meet with designers to go over projects while taking a look at the products in the garden center.

The idea is to host events there and rent out the space for gatherings, Helland added.

“After 45 years, a lot had been moved around and shuffled and everything,” he said. “This is organized in a much better fashion.”

Hours will be the same as the previous location: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.