Q & A With Amicis Gardens

Amicis Gardens is a greenhouse and gift shop located in Notikewin, Alberta, 6km north and 1km west of Manning. Pronunciation is a little tricky for this Latin title chosen as its unique name. The unique name is as unique as the business. Having all plant names in Latin, Amicis (pr: ah-me’cheese) was chosen for its meaning of friends, family and loved ones.

All ages are welcome to visit and enjoy the gorgeous blooms of spring from the huge array of annual bedding plants and a great selection of planted pots and hanging baskets at Amicis Gardens. Meander through a beautiful park like setting of trees, perennials, statues and water fountains offered for sale. Your last stop can be in the gift shop for a sweet treat of delicious fudge and other goodies or spend more time shopping through a selection of ladies accessories, home décor and kitchen gadgets. There’s even a few antiques and hand made items to be found. If you enjoyed your time there maybe you will come back to create something at one of the many workshops offered.

What can visitors expect when they visit? 

I’ve been told by many of my customers that as soon as they arrive they feel stress melt away as they relax and just enjoy their time browsing around. They enjoy the displays and items tucked about in the store and plant areas. People notice something new every time they visit.

What types of products are sold at Amicis Gardens?

As per our namesake being gardens, we sell a huge variety for many different gardens. The spring season is an explosion of color with hundreds of varieties of annual flowers. We also have a great selection of trees, shrubs, perennials, seeds, houseplants, concrete statues and fountains.  We offer a wide variety of planters, just about anything that holds dirt! Visitors will find a large selection of plant pots – we have hanging, sitting, plastic, wicker, wood and even antique as well as water bowls for aquatic plants.  We have workshops as well so you can pick your favorite plants right out of the greenhouse and plant them yourself. The Christmas season brings on over 3000 square feet of decorated trees and decor not just for shopping but for visitors’ enjoyment as well. Visitors feel as though they are  walking into a winter wonderland! Winter classes of evergreen projects and craft painting brighten the long cold days and evenings.

What makes you different from other retailers in the Mighty Peace?

I think we are different from other retailers in the way that we try to help each customer as an individual. We truly want them to be happy with their purchase and we personally help each guest when they need us to. We are also different because of the many hours spent sourcing unique and interesting products and plants that are not commonly seen. We offer help in how to put all these items together in the home to be enjoyed.

Do you host any events?

We host 2 events every year. Our biggest is the kick off to the Christmas season during the first week of November. We begin with our opening night. It is a social evening of sipping cider and tasting snacks surrounded by glamourous trees and lights, fresh evergreen scents and Christmas carols ( sometimes even with live performers). It is a much anticipated and well attended event. Our second event is for our spring growing members. Customers who have purchased a membership receive discounts on their plants and special sales. As a thank you to our members for their patronage, we also host an evening with refreshments and giveaways.

Do you offer any specialty services to visitors?

A specialty service we offer is really our creativity we use to help customers put together a project or theme for any season. You can’t get assistance like that in bigger stores! We do custom work for many customers suited just to them.