We are not here to lie to you and say that gardening is cheap. Plants and all planting products can cost a pretty penny. But don’t turn your back on that empty garden—there are options. Garden centers, hardware stores and even grocery stores can be great places to get what you need. They offer lower prices and a solid enough selection of plants to build a fun and affordable garden. Note also: autumn is a good time to get some solid deals on plants when there is still a good window to put them in the ground. But that’s months away, so for now, here’s our advice. ROBIN KISSER.
Tony’s Garden Center
multiple locations, tonysgarden.com. Hours vary by location.
Tony’s Garden Center doesn’t just give you bang for your buck, it gives you some bang for your buck, too. There are locations in Happy Valley and Damascus, but Portlanders can find them at Southeast Holgate Boulevard and the 103rd Avenue location. The parking lot is small but the offers on the other side of the door are extensive. There are many greenhouses to roam like an outdoor market – tomato appetizers for days, with a lot of trays of vegetables that come to $4, which is on the more affordable side of the production plants in the city. And it’s not just a product. You will find native plants and shrubs, long aisles of annuals (without hearing it is a customer who is anxiously waiting for just the right begonias), trees and berry vines to take home. There are also things inside, a greenhouse full of succulents and tropical plants with half the table offering a wealth of slightly crunchy (except for a powerful moonlight philodendron with wide wax leaves that develop in a yellow banana).
This local family business has been around for 25 years and feels well run and loved. Late on a Sunday afternoon, a day when the rain has cleared for one last burst of sunshine, the long rows of plants are saturated and almost glowing as parents mill around as their children pass through the halls, the young couples lean on each other. and pick plants for their new yards, and staff members smile and ask if you need anything, casually grouping and laughing softly as the day wears on. You have a community and many options here. Stopping by Tony’s is time well spent. RB.
Fred Meyer
multiple locations, fredmeyer.com. Hours vary by location.
The department store nursery that pops up in Fred Meyer parking lots each spring is a boon for local gardeners who want to make a big landscape impact but are operating on a tight greenhouse budget. Fortunately, in Freddy’s makeshift hallways, gardeners will find shelves full of familiar perennials, groundcovers, ornamentals and colorful annuals, herbs and vegetables, all primed and ready to be put into window boxes, raised beds, washed-in lawns courtyards, or even decorative vases. The selection includes plants that grow in shaded areas, or are particularly drought tolerant, or will be fruitful in sunny areas. Both beginners and more established botanists (hanging pots or small trees) all feature considerably friendlier price points than the boutiques.
Gardeners with purse strings held tight can ease their grip on the FM parking lot nursery, with a significant selection of plant starts on sale for less than $3. With deals like these, even the most frugal gardeners among we can assemble impressive garden parking lots, fill their curb appeal, and add a touch of color to their pigs and their stoops. Freddy’s garden center (the one inside) also has all the gardening tools you need as well as complementary accessories like bird feeders, hummingbird nectar, and those brightly colored Adirondack chairs that actually link outer space. BRIANNA WHEELER.
Parkrose Hardware
multiple locations, parkrosehardware.com. 7am to 8pm Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm on Sunday.
Here’s the thing about Parkrose Hardware: it’s amazing. The nearly 60-year-old Portland hardware store has expanded to locations across the river in Vancouver, Washington, and further afield in West Linn, but we’re focusing on the Parkrose off Northeast Sandy Boulevard in its namesake neighborhood. There’s a modest but mighty selection of plants and gardening tools and supplies, and sales are always, always running, like the current “Blooming Buys” sale through May 13 that offers $2 vegetable starts , half of ceramic pots, soil loads, and annual hanging baskets. As summer goes on, you can find hearty azaleas that move up to 30 percent, echinacea starters down to $5, or germander and sage plants slide down to sometimes a dollar. Again, this a dollar (This writer may or may not have torn several too-pruned poodle bushes in his yard and spontaneously replanted with the ugly plants of Parkrose).
For homeowners, a stop at Parkrose Hardware can be feeding two birds with one scone: Maybe you have a blown sprinkler head or you need to pick up a nail or dark screws, like most old Portland houses they need Parkrose staff are knowledgeable and friendly, and will help you find that odd fastener. Plus, Parkrose has a rewards program that gives you $5 bonuses. It’s basically a free plant. RB.
See more of Willamette Week’s 2024 Garden Guide here!
