Let's talk about nurseries...

Lantana

If I had to give you a list of my favorite area nurseries it would go something like this:

1. Pesche's in Des Plaines - Great selection of annuals, perennials, veggies, herbs, shrubs & trees. These people TAKE CARE of their plants. You rarely, if ever, find any under watered plants sitting around dying. The have such an enormous variety of plants! And their prices beat out any Chicago nursery.


2. The Oak Park Conservatory Herb and Flowering Plant Sale - Yes, it's not a nursery per se, but this annual sale is great! The plants offered are geared toward urban garden spaces & container gardens that can tolerate the Chicago climate. Prices are reasonable and varieties include many that you won't necessarily find at your neighborhood nursery or garden center. It takes place in April.
   
3. Gethsemane Garden Center in Chicago on Clark - Wonderful selection of plants and bulbs. They have a great variety of indoor/house/tropical plants. If you need a big banana plant or a citrus already producing fruit then this is the place to go!


4. Platt Hill Nursery in Bloomingdale - Once again - the variety is great...it's just a long drive from the city.


5. Walmart in Mount Prospect - If you get there within a day or two of their plant shipments you can score some great prices on really healthy vegetables & herbs, perennials, annuals and accent plants. Where else are you going to get a 6 pack of annuals at $1.29 of a decent sized Japanese Maple for $29.99?


6. CityScape on Lake in Chicago - What I like about this place is that they group their flowering plants by color - i.e. all yellows are grouped together. It really makes it easy to coordinate colors, but it makes finding the exact species you want difficult. Prices here are probably the highest I've seen in the city. We suspect they make most of their profit through their landscaping and professional services, not their retail operations.


7. Grand Street Gardens in Chicago - Good if you need to pick up plants in a pinch. The selection comes and goes. Sometimes you'll score some great looking plants, other days it looks sad. Prices are a bit high, but they carry a lot of Monrovia brand plants and cater to the urban gardener. Owner is not the friendliest person in town.

Other notables:

• Grow on Damen in Chicago


• Jayson Home & Garden on Clyborn in Chicago


• Lurvey's Garden Center in Des Plaines


• Old Town Garden Center on Wells in Chicago