Five Essential Gardening Shops in Austin

The Great Outdoor 

Situated along two shaded acres, this city gardening heart has been a horticulture hub on bustling South Congress because 1994. Take pleasure in a moment of Zen as you relish the seem of flowing water from the koi pond in advance of browsing its large selection of indigenous and adapted crops, nearly all of which are organic and natural. Be confident to verify out the store’s curated array of heirloom and heritage seeds inside its shop, which also capabilities a unusual vegetation scenario with an ever-switching assortment of exclusive flora for your residence.

Garden Seventeen 

Highlighted in episode 6 of Queer Eye’s latest season, this LGBTQ-owned greenhouse and nursery is a haven for new gardeners. Opened in the summer of 2020, the consumer-friendly North Austin shop is stuffed with handy indications for aspiring eco-friendly thumbs: from what and when to plant to comprehensive lists of pet-secure greenery and very low- light-weight-tolerant plants. Check out the center’s Do-it-yourself potting station and signal up for in-store lessons like Planting Herbs & Veggies, Native Texas Landscaping, and Mixology with Plants this month.

Shoal Creek Nursery 

Outside vegetation are a huge focus at this Rosedale staple, which puts beautiful geraniums and bougainvillea on exhibit, as well as shade-loving shrubs, cacti, and trees. While you are there, store the rock crystals and gardening applications inside the present shop. Hunting for a image op? Acquire the minor types to snap a pic by Bigfoot and the alien statuary, found upcoming to the center’s rainwater assortment tank, which is utilised to nourish the nursery.

The Natural Gardener 

It would consider a whole day to adequately examine the wonders of this eight-acre treasure trove of natural and organic gardening. Owned due to the fact 1993 by John Dromgoole, a decades-very long fixture in the Austin horticulture scene, this environment-class nursery in Oak Hill contains a butterfly backyard, fruit orchard, herb backyard, outside lounge location with swings, numerous greenhouses, and a labyrinthine pathway that potential customers earlier a goat pen. Give your possess backyard some aptitude with its eccentric garden decor, these types of as vivid peacock ornaments, gargoyles, and big cat statues.

Barton Springs Nursery

Offering a substantial selection of native flora like Texas perennials, trees, and yuccas, this West Austin nursery grows a lot more than fifty percent of its vegetation on-internet site, so almost everything is accustomed to the regional soil and local weather from the start off. The animals of this 36-calendar year-old back garden middle deliver it to lifestyle, from Fern the cat (see sidebar) to Fig the turtle to the birdhouse loaded with rescued parakeets. When you are on the hunt for the best present, peruse its revamped gift store, which has a combine of house goods, pottery, and kids’ clothing.

A lot more Than a Feline

With responsibilities that include mouse catching and customer greeting, there are numerous cats that enjoy a critical part at Austin outdoor nurseries. The friendliest 1 could be Shoal Creek Nursery’s Chicago, a gray-and-white 16-calendar year-old that loves staying petted by friends. When Barton Springs Nursery’s black cat, Fern, is not patrolling the grounds, he can be uncovered lounging at the rear of the test-out stand in his teardrop-shaped bed. At the Great Outside, an orange tabby named Queenie (pictured) procedures the roost. Just after she kept escaping from her first house to dangle out at the SoCo backyard garden heart, her house owners ultimately just enable her are living at her most well-liked verdant paradise. 

Rooting Desire: John Dromgoole of The Pure Gardener recommends three indigenous crops that thrive in Central Texas yards.

1 / Mexican Feather Grass 

This grass provides a nice, tender contrast in the xeric back garden. It’s a effectively-adapted native that goes a prolonged way in the landscape.

2 / Anacacho Orchid

A wild-looking deciduous tree that blooms in early spring. These fragrant white orchid–type blooms are such a shock.

3 / Bigtooth Maple 

This is a showstopper in the drop! It is a incredibly hardy indigenous tree that presents us Texans a flavor of the turning leaves.