Garden Shop Or Plant Store: What’s Best For Your Gardening?

Honestly, I’ll buy plants from just about anywhere. A little roadside stand? Count me in. A greenhouse set up in the grocery store parking lot? Yep, I’ve done that too. The farmer’s market? Absolutely! But most of my plants come from nurseries or garden centers. Each option has its pros and cons, and after years of gardening, I’ve bought plenty from both.

As a Master Gardener volunteer, I’ve learned the value of stretching a buck when we’re filling flower beds for non-profit organizations. And let’s be real, my personal budget isn’t unlimited either. So when I’m shopping for my own gardens, I tend to go to garden centers for more common, filler plants, and hit up the nurseries for unique specialty or native species.

Since nurseries grow a lot of their own plants, they almost always have the best selection and most unique species. But that comes at a cost – they’re usually more expensive. That’s why I set aside some budget to invest in the specific plants I really want, like specimen plants or native species. These small-business owners and employees often know a ton about what works best for my local area. And some nurseries even specialize in native plants, so they’re a great resource for regional greenery and expertise.

I love browsing local nurseries because they have all kinds of plants I’ve never seen or heard of before. Or they’ll have different varieties of ones I’m already familiar with. You might only find a standard variegated hosta at the garden center, but the local nursery is where I’d go to track down something specific like the ‘Mouse Ears’ cultivar. Same goes for the many beautiful columbine species – the garden center might have a couple colors, but the nursery has them all, and yes, I do need them all!

I definitely prefer nurseries when I can, but garden centers do have their benefits. Most nurseries I’ve shopped at don’t have a clearance section, but garden centers often do. I love those clearance racks – I call them “rescue plants” and can’t resist snatching them up, even if they look a little rough. With some gardening know-how and a bit of luck, I can turn those $2 scraggly bougainvilleas into stunning, blooming beauties by the end of the season. Finding those hidden gems is one of the joys of shopping at garden centers.

The clearance rack isn’t the only way to save at the garden center though. They also tend to have great sales, especially around spring and summer holidays. If you’re in the market for larger items like shade trees or hedging bushes, those are the perfect times to shop. Just be sure to check the tags and make sure it’s a good fit for your growing conditions. Garden centers also usually offer plants in multi-packs, which can be way cheaper for filling up big spaces. Common flowers like impatiens or marigolds are often just a few bucks for a six-pack. So when it comes to stocking up your garden and landscaping, checking out both nurseries and garden centers is the way to go to get the best of both worlds. And hey, that’s just an excuse to do more plant shopping, right?