Earl May Garden Center

Super helpful and very friendly. I appreciated how clearly they had the plants marked with their ideal placement.

Landscape appointment 5/29, husband left work (in Pella) two hours early for appointment in Ames, Earl May landscape designer was a no call and no show. Called Earl May in the afternoon for next steps or rescheduling information, was told we'd receive a call the following day. One week later, still no call back, and no answer the two times I've called the store since. Terrible service.

The staff was knowledgeable when I asked for bird seed recommendations. We had a very nice employee help us load mulch into our truck. Great shopping experience!

I bought two succulents and an alocasia polly that I was excited about. After I got home I realized that they were all heavily infested with mealy bugs. Make sure to thoroughly inspect plants before purchasing here, the alocasia polly and succulents were even displayed far away from each other in store so it’s safe to say that most of their plants are not free of pest.

I stopped into the Ames, Iowa store on 8/13/25 and was EXTREMELY disappointed with the three staff I saw working. I purchased a new home and was wanting to buy several plants for the landscaping I was going to have done. One staff person was outside spraying weeds in the rock and never offered assistance or even greeted me. I picked out quite a few perennials and a rose bush, which I had to walk in the area with rock to put into my cart. This was somewhat difficult as I use a cane. Still no offer of assistance from anyone. When I was finished picking out plants and went into the store to pay, I had difficulty maneuvering the cart, opening the door, using my cane and pushing the cart inside. While trying to do this, the cashier was watching me and when I finally got most of the way inside, she asked if I needed assistance. Wellllll, that would be a NO at this point. My bill was around $225 and I paid with three $100 bills. The cashier only had two $20 bills for change, so she had to give the rest of my change with fives...I told her I didn't want all those fives and I would give her two $100 bills and pay the balance with my debit card. She said she would have to do a return on all the items I purchased and then ring up everything again. Because she acted like that would be such a bother, I told her to forget it and took all the fives. I asked if I would get replacement plants or my money back in the spring if the plants didn't live and she said in a "not so friendly voice" that I would have to present my receipt. There was a younger guy that helped me load the plants in my car, which I thanked him for; however, neither he nor the person that checked me out said a simple thank you. Extremely disappointing experience.