Donahue's Greenhouse

Donahue’s massive greenhouses offer a riot of color and full-sensory fun for gardeners and green thumbs from April through late June, and again from Thanksgiving through Christmas when the space comes alive with a sea of 20,000 holiday poinsettias.

The operation is best known for its more than 130 varieties of clematis, but additional tables of perennials, annuals, herbs, vegetables and hundreds of vibrant hanging baskets seem to stretch for acres. Donahue’s striped and solid clematis blooms come in every shade and variation of white, red, purple and lavender. Customers can find the climbing clematis at nurseries throughout the region, but avid collectors go straight to Faribault, or the nursery’s catalog, to locate the exact blooms they want.

All this colorful inventory makes Donahue’s a destination greenhouse where annual sales can create traffic jams stretching for blocks. For those who don’t mind the crowds, lines and craziness, the annual June close-out event is where to snag the best bargains.