Gowanus Nursery Shutting Up Shop After More Than 20 Years in Brooklyn
Gowanus Nursery will be closing its gates on the corner of Van Brunt and Carroll streets for the final time this weekend as its owners prepare to relocate to Connecticut after more than 20 years in the borough.
Gowanus Nursery will serve customers from its Columbia Street Waterfront District location for the last time this weekend. Photo by Anna Bradley-Smith
Gowanus Nursery will be closing its gates on the corner of Van Brunt and Carroll streets for the final time this weekend as its owners prepare to relocate to Connecticut after more than 20 years in the borough.
According to the store’s website, June 25 will be the last day to shop at the nursery, which despite its compact size is known for unusual varieties and cottage-style flowers as well as seeds and supplies. The shop was originally opened in Gowanus by Michele Paladino more than 20 years ago, and it has since moved twice, landing finally at its current location in Columbia Street Waterfront District.
Paladino says in the post on the website, “the business has been beautiful and sustaining, however it is time for new seasons and adventures.”
“We will be packing up in July and August and re-formulating a future in the northwest corner of Connecticut where I have been growing regional native plants from local seed. I’d like for ‘Gowanus’ to continue to support Brooklyn gardeners by providing fine soil amendments, tools and plants via online ordering for pickup in a local drop spot weekly during the season — more on that in the future.”
Paladino thanks the “wonderful staff and magnificent patrons” the business has attracted over the past 20 years and invites people to come and say goodbye over the weekend. The nursery is open Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.
On Yelp, one customer who has been going to the store since it first opened said, “as a home gardener, I was mesmerized by the choices and the mere beauty of the displays, the arrangements, the energy, the vibration that Michelle alone creates.”
“I have been going to the Gowanus Nursery since its inception and it only gets better with time. It is like a magical wonderland of plants – plants growing out of the cracks in the concrete, plants with violet berries, archways covered with ivy, random marble tops on planters, wagons to load up your plants. Michelle lets you take your time, she is beyond knowledgeable, beyond helpful, beyond gifted at what she does.”
Another customer wrote, “I couldn’t believe the variety of both exotic and native plants in that one space. Want weird or sophisticated? Done. Want homey cottage vibes? Got it. And the service was top notch. Michelle, thank you for being my garden guru.”
While plant suppliers are almost as plentiful as bookshops in Brooklyn, Gowanus Nursery is the latest in a string of nursery closures in the borough. Kings County Nursery shuttered at the start of the year after selling its lot to developers. The space is set to be turned into two seven-story apartment buildings.
In Fort Greene, Gardel’s Greene Garden also plans to close within the next month. Gardel Prudent, who owns the plant shop, has long planned to build an apartment building on the site.
Related Stories
- Gardel’s Greene Garden Closing After More Than 20 Years in Fort Greene
- Kings County Nurseries and Parking Lot to Be Replaced by Two Seven-Story Apartment Buildings
- Where to Get Your Garden On in Brooklyn: 7 of the Borough’s Biggest Plant Purveyors
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