You don’t need a lot of space to have your own garden. If you want to be a gardener in Philly, all you need is a small amount of outdoor space and a few plants. There are community gardens located throughout the city, so even if you have no outdoor space at home, you can still scratch your gardening itch. Whether you are growing plants at home or on a small plot in a community garden, you can visit a few nurseries throughout the city to get the supplies you need, as well as some advice, if needed.
Greensgrow Farms
Since it is an actual farm located in the city, the people at Greensgrow understand what goes into producing an urban garden. The farm recently expanded from its original location in Kensington and opened a new garden center over in West Philadelphia. If you’re an absolute beginner or aren’t sure how to go about designing or starting your garden, the nursery staff can help you design a planting arrangement for the front of your home. They can also help you choose the plants that are best for your garden based on what you want to grow and the amount of space you have, for a fee.
Urban Jungle
If you’re a gardener living in South Philadelphia, you’ll want to head to Urban Jungle for all your springtime gardening needs. One of the areas of focus of the store is planting vertical gardens, or gardens that grow in planters positioned on a wall. Another focus of the store is on producing green environments in an urban setting. In the height of gardening season, you can find a variety of plants, such as herbs, veggies, and ornamentals, at the store. Urban Jungle also provides garden consultation services, if you need help figuring out how to arrange or set-up your garden space. If you’re looking to learn a new gardening skill, you can take a workshop at the store, too.
City Planter
Container gardening is often the way to go in Philly, as your backyard is likely to be paved over or any in-ground soil is likely to be contaminated in some way. City Planter, located in Northern Liberties, has a great selection of containers and planters, in a range of sizes and shapes. You’ll find window boxes at the store, as well as terrariums. Along with containers, City Planter sells a selection of houseplants and outdoor plants, as well as container soils.
Ask PHS
Do you need help picking the right plants to grow in your garden or are you looking for advice about a specific plant? You might want to check out the Ask a Gardener database, maintained by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. The database contains a number of answers to questions people have asked, such as when’s the best time to plant or what plants will do best on a small balcony. If you don’t see the answer to your question in the database, you can ask it and someone will get back to you.
It helps to have people to turn when you’re starting a garden at your Philadelphia home. Garden stores in Philly will do more than just sell you a handful of plants. They can also help you decide which plants are best suited to you and give you tips to help you get the most out of them.
Image Source: Flickr/Dylan T. Moore
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