Calling All Gardeners: What's Your Favorite Shop? - Gardenista
That’s the way most gardeners learn there’s an amazing collection of moss-covered terra cotta pots at a nearby florist’s shop or that a shipment of unusual hellebores just arrived at the local nursery. We’re making a list of all the best sources to go to if we need a new pair of pruners, or a truckload of mushroom mulch, or a special bouquet for a friend’s birthday. Julie discovered Crimson Horticultural Rarities in Oakland last summer; it describes itself as a “rare plant shop and floral design boutique” specializing in unexpected vegetative decor (plus terrariums and taxidermy. Image by Maurice Flower, via Flickr. In central Stockholm, the gift shop at Rosendals Trädgård offers seeds for sale, including peas; instructions included. In his Tokyo shop Sinajina bonsai artist Kenji Kobayashi sells whimsical creations including miniature landscapes hedgehogs that... ...grow moss on their backs and pine seedlings that literally tie themselves into knots to please him Snug Harbor Farm in southern Maine is a must-stop shop, specializing in everything from topiary to willow garden accessories to fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables. At Oliver Gustav s moody antique garden shop in Copenhagen you are as likely to find formally pruned topiaries and busts of the philosophers... ...as a basket of crocus bulbs that got tired of waiting for daylight and went ahead and bloomed in a hand turned wooden bowl For more on Oliver Gustav, see “Shopper’s Diary: Oliver Gustav’s Antiquaries.” Alexa is an admirer of the work of Brussels-based florist Thierry Boutemy, who operates the simply named Fleuriste shop in Belgium and creates haphazard-seeming but impossibly artful bouquets and floral installations. Photograph by Scott Beale/Laughing Squid. I’ve developed a serious dependence on Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco.