Urban Earth

Urban Earth is a real gem in the Fremont neighborhood. The owner, Susan, has transformed this small space into a top-flight nursery. She stocks a wide variety of plants, including some interesting and unusual plants. The layout makes sense and the plants are lush and robust. On a recent visit, I picked up a number of my usual staples along with two new vines I was not familiar with, and for which Susan provided great advice (Ecremocarpus Scarlet ‘Chilean Glory Vine’ and Kadsura ‘Chirifu’). You fill find a great selection of small bushes and trees that are appropriate for smaller, urban gardens. Yes, the prices are higher than Fred Meyer, but you are getting a great selection, expert advice, super-healthy plants, and an altogether more fun shopping experience. The fact that you are supporting a small, local business is just an added bonus.

I met Susan's son at another nursery. I was looking for a landscape designer for my backyard. He gave me his mom's phone number. I called her on the phone and told her what I needed. She came to our house, on time, and listened to our ideas. We agreed to meet in a few weeks. She called to verify our appointment and then arrived a few minutes early, well prepared. She sketched a layout for our backyard that reflected some of our ideas and improvements on our ideas that we liked very much. She did a great job, presented the drawing well, and then itemized each plant with alternate suggestions. She is a very pleasant person, listens to our ideas, and presents her ideas. It was a very productive session and we are looking forward to implementing her ideas. She even offered us a discount and to return to our house to help with the placement of plants if we purchased them from her, which we intend to do. Very professional, punctual, great ideas, and a nice person.

Susan is wonderful to work with - she has a vast knowledge of plants and does an amazing job of incorporating plants that provide color and texture all year round from their bark and leaves to flowers. She is also very open to questions and requests of particular plants. It was also apparent that she is respected by the landscaping installation firm employees. The front yard is beautiful!. Her willingness to do short consultations on other parts of our yard was a real bonus and so rewarding. It allowed me to redo the backyard myself, including plant selection and planting, with much more knowledge and success than if I had done it without this professional advice. (For instance - ideas for plants that would do well in a semi-shaded area that can get "boggy".) As Susan willingly shares her knowledge, I also feel much more informed. I'm certain we will save enough, by having made more informed choices for our plantings and know how to care for them, to "repay" the fees we paid her many times over. (On a related note - I first became acquainted with Susan when she did the master plan for the common areas of a condo development where I previously lived and served on the board. As this was a few years ago, I was able to see her design develop over time. It has continued to have all the qualities we were looking for - year-round interest, easy mainenance, etc.)