Clement Nursery — Attraction in San Francisco

I’ve always loved this nursery. And yesterday they saved me from a potential attack by a crazy / mentally ill person who was following me.

My boyfriend used to live in the inner Richmond and visiting Clement Nursery would be a favorite weekend activity of mine. Good prices on both plants and pots. Cozy atmosphere. Extremely kind staff. Naturally after getting some new plants, I decided to come here to pick up some new pots.

I noticed a homeless, not “fully there” guy staring at me on the 38R. Not abnormal for San Francisco. It got weird when I turned onto 20th and he was following me from the other side of the street, maybe 50 feet behind. He kept the same distance and I got uncomfortable, but walked faster to get to Clement. It’s safe inside and there’s no reason a homeless person would go there. I got scared when he showed up.

I went to the indoor plant section to see if he would follow. He did. He stood by the checkout desk motionless, vacantly watching me. I stayed close to store management and debated whether to confront him myself because this had never happened to me in my 5 years living here. Luckily, the two men who work at the nursery (pretty sure one is the owner) said to each other “Can you keep an eye on that guy, he’s acting strange.” Upon hearing them, I found the courage to say that the homeless man had followed me and was making me extremely uncomfortable and increasingly scared.

They firmly asked the homeless man to leave or else they’d call the non emergency number. And when the man tried lingering in front, staff made SURE he left the premises so I could get home safely in an Uber. Clement Nursery’s professionalism in not only handling the situation, but also SENSING something was wrong made me feel safe. Protected. And incredibly grateful.

They saved me from what could have been a bad incident, and are honest, good people who care about the neighborhood. I’ll forever...

This place looked great from the reviews, but I didn’t expect to be criticized for my questions and for having a shelf from IKEA.

My intention was to go here and buy some plants that I can put in my bathroom to make it smell nicer. I had a shelf from IKEA that I got from my sister-in-law tucked under my arm, and wanted to make sure the plants would fit on this shelf. The man who was helping me didn’t seem to want to help me, especially when I asked my question about bathrooms and plants. He said there is nothing like that, but then when I pressed him for knowledge, he started to mention how fragrant plants like jasmines have given one woman a migraine. Then seeing I was STILL looking for answers, he brought me into the indoor nursery. That’s where I mentioned I wanted the plants to fit on this shelf. He saw that it was from IKEA and commented on how it’s ironic that I’m looking for a plant to clean the air when I have an IKEA shelf which is made of chemicals that you are trying to keep out of your house.

Ok, I get it! You can point out all your plants out to me and provide me with what you think is customer service, but I’m not the type of customer you want to cater to. Maybe the others who wrote a good review for you are. I thanked him for his help and decided to go...

When I'm happy, I go to Clement Nursery. When I'm sad, I go to Clement Nursery. This wonderful spot in the Richmond is just heaven on earth, filled with the most healthy specimens of the chlorophyll variety.

They have such a wonderful variety and do such a great job filling their space with endless choices, especially the indoor plants. The staff is great, especially the owner who is just a lovely man to do business with.

There is just one thing - a few times in the past year, I have been turned off by an older man who has really just seemed put out at little things. I was comparing two plants and pots and put them at a lower vantage point shelf and he just grabbed them and said they didn't go there. It was bizarre. Other times he's been quite rude as well. This isn't to discourage anyone from shopping here, just maybe its time for a talk about taking it easy...