6 Reasons Local Garden Centers Are the Best Place to Buy Plants

From online services to big box stores and local nurseries and garden centers, there are tons of different ways you can find and purchase plants to add to your landscape. Often, it’s a matter of finding the balance between convenience and quality. But is one option truly better than all the others? 

We spoke to several gardening professionals who said the same thing: local garden centers and nurseries are the best places to source plants for your landscape. Here are a few reasons why the pros agree that garden centers and nurseries are always the way to go.

A more comprehensive selection of plants is one of the top reasons that gardening pros agree local nurseries and garden centers are the best places to shop. In one location, you can find various perennials, annuals, shrubs, trees, fruit and vegetable plants, and unusual or specialty varieties.

Plus, your local garden centers are more likely to have plants native to your area, says Janet Loughrey of Garden Design. Not only is this ideal for creating water-smart gardens that are good for pollinators, but they’re also more low-maintenance, which is always a benefit. 

“Independent garden centers tend to take care of their plants better than big box stores where plants are not their major focus,” Loughrey says.

If you’ve ever perused the gardening section of your local big box store only to find a sad display of wilted plants, you’ll understand what she means. The workers at garden centers and nurseries are specifically trained to care for plants properly (it’s literally their full-time job), and the difference is notable.

You can count on the plants from your local garden centers to be healthy, disease-free, and pest-free. Many nurseries and garden centers even