13 Great Garden Centers

Take a cross-country tour of independent nurseries and garden shops.

By: Jeff Stafford

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Photo By: Image courtesy of East Coast Garden Center

Photo By: Image courtesy of The Good Earth Garden Center

Photo By: Image courtesy of Payne's Nurseries and Greenhouses, photo by Ruth Johnson

Photo By: Image courtesy of Payne's Nurseries & Greenhouses, photo by Ruth Johnson

Photo By: Image courtesy of L.A. Reynolds Garden Showcase, photo by Patricia Murphy

Photo By: Image courtesy of Moon Valley Nurseries

Photo By: Image courtesy of Ooltewah Nursery & Landscape Co.

Photo By: Image courtesy of Ooltewah Nursery and Landscape Co.

Photo By: Image courtesy of White Oak Gardens

Photo By: Image courtesy of Roger's Gardens and Pesiri Photography

Photo By: Image courtesy of Roger's Garden and Pesiri Photography

Photo By: Image courtesy of Tangletown Gardens, LLC.

Photo By: Image courtesy of Wallitsch Nursery and Garden Center

Photo By: Image courtesy of White Oak Gardens

Photo By: Image courtesy of Wildwood Nursery and Garden Center

Photo By: Image courtesy of Harper's Nurseries and Landscape Company

Photo By: Image courtesy of Dickman Farms Greenhouses and Garden Center

Rows and Rows of Color

Located in Millsboro, Delaware, East Coast Garden Center has more than 70 greenhouses to produce the variety and selection needed for their seasonal offerings. At the Cordrey Center, they host special events such the annual Flower & Arts Festival and enrichment classes on gardening topics.

A Destination for Delaware Gardeners

In addition to decorative yard sculpture, shrubs and other items that enhance greenspaces, East Coast Garden Center offers full-service landscaping and hardscaping support such as paver installation. Their website also provides online resources that shows you how to prune roses, identity plant diseases and other tips.

Little Rock Gem

In business for over 39 years, The Good Earth Garden Center in Little Rock, Arkansas has a loyal customer base due to their high quality inventory and willingness to share helpful advice via their blog, where they tackle topics on everything from when to plant spring vegetables to how to create a living wreath with succulents.

Inside The Good Earth

The rustic, high ceiling interior of The Good Earth Garden Center houses a massive array of garden products that run the gamut from aquatic supplies to pottery to muck boots to terrariums to climbing vines such as clematis and swamp jasmine.

A Santa Fe Tradition

Payne's Nurseries & Greenhouses have been in business since 1952, with two locations in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In addition to specializing in annuals, perennials and other plants that grow well in the Southwest, they also believe that mulch is one of the secret ingredients in gardening and will help you select the ideal one in their organic soil yard.

Greenhouse Surveillance

At Payne's, you'll be able to find almost any plant, flower or vegetable that grows easily in the New Mexico climate as well as growing tips. Check out their website for an informative "Plant of the Week" spotlight and educational support through local agricultural extension services and more.

Scarlet Sensations

L.A. Reynolds Garden Showcase is generally considered one of the largest garden centers in Winston-Salem and the Triad area, providing a vast inventory of flowers, trees, shrubs, herbs and other garden essentials. In operation since 1991, L.A. Reynolds is famous for its annual Yuletide event that includes a Christmas Tree Forest and a display of themed ornament trees.

Hydrangea Modeling Class

An enticing selection of hydrangea trees, planters and birdbaths are featured in one of the many sales offered to customers at L.A. Reynolds Garden Showcase. Staffed by horticultural experts, the store is also a go-to source for information on everything from organic pesticides to the best squirrel-proof bird feeders.

Ficus on Parade

Billed as the largest box tree-grower in America, Moon Valley Nurseries also specializes in plants and fertilizers at its seven Arizona locations, with additional stores in Las Vegas and California. Their most popular seller is the Ficus Nitida, a beautiful, dense shade tree that adapts well to desert climates.

Date Tree Oasis

Moon Valley Nurseries not only offers a variety of date palm trees, but carries a wide range of evergreen, cacti, fruit trees and fast growers that do well in desert climates.

Tennessee Field Trip

The Ooltewah Nursery & Landscape Company have been serving the Chattanooga and Cleveland communities of Tennessee since 1989. In addition to offering a farmers' market every Thursday, featuring organic and locally-grown food, the nursery provides a custom container planting service and hosts school field trips and guest speakers like Master Gardener Ruth Baumgardner of Mouse Creek Nursery and Perennial Farms.

Pumpkin, Squash and Gourd Fiesta

Expect to see plenty of pumpkins and assorted squash and gourds if you happen to visit Ooltewah Nursery in the fall. They also feature a year-round slate of seasonal events that focus on everything from cooking classes to lessons in rose care by Clayton Beaty, a distinguished rosarian and founder of Beaty Fertilize, Inc.

Pitchers Galore

Serving the community of Cleveland, Ohio for more than 50 years, White Oak Gardens is an invaluable resource for local gardeners, not just for its well-stocked array of plant, shrub and tree specimens but for its year-round, free seminar series taught by experts on topics such as "Sweet Treats" (how to grow fruits and berries) and "Sizzling Succulents" (maintenance tips).

More Than a Garden Center

A prime destination for gardeners in Orange County, California, Roger's Gardens, in Corona Del Mar, expands the meaning of garden center to include a floral studio with flower events, an art gallery with regular exhibitions and a weekend schedule spotlighting local food trucks.

Gift Shop Extraordinaire

Most garden centers sell home decor products, but Roger's Gardens takes the road less traveled with its high quality offerings of dishware, global imports, jewelry, books, pillows, shells, napkins, candles and bath products.

Tangletown High

A tranquil oasis in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Tangletown Gardens has been in operation for 12 years with a parallel business in landscaping. Tangletown operates a CSA program from a 100-acre farm and greenhouse facility in nearby Plato that delivers fresh produce, grass-fed beef and free-range poultry. In case you're wondering, they are "closed for all blizzards."

Kentucky Geraniums

You'd expect to find hanging flower pots and geraniums in season at most garden centers in the U.S. but Louisville's Wallitsch Garden Center also makes an extra effort to offer some of the less common but desirable plants for gardeners such as dwarf pomegranates, bougainvilleas, numerous fuchsia choices and a wonderful selection of high-end planters.

Green Thumb Aura

Since 1946, Wallitsch Garden Center has been offering the Louisville, Kentucky area a variety of specialized services including lawn care, leaf removal, patio walkway construction and irrigation projects as well as workshops on trending garden topics like terrariums and fairy gardening.

Man-Eating Hay Monster

The staff at White Oak Gardens are a creative bunch who like to have fun, but also enjoy helping gardeners with innovative solutions to problems such as creating a deer resistant garden or recommending the ideal plants to attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

Rhode Island Deer

Serving Rhode Island since 1967, Wildwood Nursery & Garden Center in East Greenwich, offers a broad selection of perennials, annuals, groundcovers and the usual suspects, but is particularly impressive for its focus on organic products such as soil amendments, mulches and pesticides.

Find The Bunny

From wrought iron sculptures to bubbling water fountains to colorful urns and planters, Wildwood Nursery carries top-of-the-line merchandise from quality design manufacturers. They also offer branded plant programs such as "Pink Ribbon Plants," where proceeds from purchases go towards beneficial causes such as fighting breast cancer.

Arizona Heirloom

With locations in Mesa and Scottsdale, Arizona, Harper's Nurseries is a third generation, family-owned business which began in 1945. They are experts in irrigation systems (either sprinkler or drip) and their landscape service provides customized work, like outdoor lighting design. But customers love them equally for their "Free Plant Day," where the first person to identify the mystery plant gets to take it home.

Coneflower Explosion in New York

Dickman Farms in Auburn, New York has been in operation since 1903. Since its partnership with Ball Seed Company in 1978, it ships over ten million young plants annually to growers across the U.S. Their lush garden center, which has the ambiance of a botanical garden, is populated with hundreds of ornamental trees, flowering shrubs and seasonal favorites like coneflowers with their vibrant colors.