Colorful watering cans and decorative butterflies greet customers when they walk into The Garden Room, 2107 E. Capitol Dr., in Shorewood. This new garden shop has a unique ambience. Not only does it have beautiful handcrafted pottery for classic gardening decoration, but it also stocks all the necessary do-it-yourself equipment, from pruning shears to gardening clogs.

According to owner Deborah Kern and marketing consultant Tom Froehlich, what really sets The Garden Room apart from competitors are its unique products, such as German and English tools and lawnmowers. A large portion of the store is dedicated to every shape and size tool a true gardener could want.

However, it is not just the products, but the services that make The Garden Room unique. At the back of the shop there is a library of gardening books.

"We allow the customers to come in and do research for their gardens and there are consultants available," says Kern, who hopes that the store's atmosphere, with classical music and complimentary coffee (served in pot-shaped mugs), creates an environment conducive for such research.

Many of the books available to customers offer information specifically useful to Wisconsin gardeners. Books such as "My Wisconsin Garden Journal" and "Gardening in Wisconsin Month to Month" give tips on the changing Midwest weather and how to plan for and handle it accordingly. Especially now, with the unusually warm winter, people have concerns about what has been blooming or growing too early. "We can help customers with such questions," explains Kern.

The assistance does not end there, though. The Garden Room also offers monthly lectures by well-known authors.

"We [rotate] every other month with national speakers and local speakers from the herb society, the rose society and others," says Kern. Soon, The Garden Room will begin to offer gardening classes. Customers can stop in and sign up on a mailing list to get more information on these particular services.

The Garden Room has only been open since mid-November and more development and expansion is on the way. Before opening the store, Kern owned a landscape design business, which she hopes to revive soon.

"Right now we are planning for this April, when we will be adding a greenhouse on the roof of the store," says Froehlich. In addition to the greenhouse, there will also be a "40x40 ft. garden that will be 18 inches deep (so there can be more plant life and trees)," explains Kern. Both will house different items for sale, along with unusual annuals.

The Garden Room is open Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information, call (414) 963-1657.