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By Jennifer Miko
Spending a year confined to our homes highlighted the importance of creating living spaces we enjoy. Suddenly we realized the value of bringing paradise home, and for many that came in the form of comprehensive backyard remodels. If you’re looking for local nurseries to jumpstart your outdoor space upgrade, we’ve curated an insightful list of the best Houston garden centers — filled with great pre-visit tips to help you on your way. From modest to massive budgets, and succulents to enormous specimen trees, these Houston garden centers are ready to equip all levels of green-thumbs.
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Buchanan's Native Plants
Curator’s Pick
When you arrive at Buchanan’s Native Plants in The Heights, you’re greeted by their friendly staff and aisles of perennials and native Texas trees, roses, azaleas, and year-round favorites. Inside their greenhouse, you’ll weave through the aisles of lush indoor plants and rare succulents and cacti. This is the place to go if you like to cook with fresh herbs—you’ll find seeds or seedlings of popular herbs like rosemary, basil, chives, and mint. If you’re a Houstonian on the hunt for organic gardening materials, this may become your favorite Houston garden center inside the loop.
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Cornelius Nursery
Curator’s Pick
When you walk into Cornelius Nursery, you’re greeted by an impressive display of seasonal plants and home decor carefully arranged on tables, in display cabinets, and hanging on the walls. From bright spring blooms to vibrant poinsettias, you can’t help but be drawn in by the colors and fragrances filling the shop throughout the year. With over 75 years in business, Cornelius Nursery is among the best Houston garden centers for an exceptional selection of plants: shrubs, perennials, trees, and houseplants. But you won’t be overwhelmed—their staff will help you design, select, and plant your perfect landscaping or potted project.
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Houston Garden Centers
Curator’s Pick
Wherever you are in the Bayou City, a Houston Garden Centers location is nearby. Their red and yellow signs are easy to spot, as well as the acres of trees. They’ve got a great selection of flowering and evergreen shrubs, tall palms, fruit trees, and more tree species that thrive in Southeast Texas. You’ll want to grab one (maybe two) of their two-tiered carts to load up your flats of flowers to add a pop of color to your landscaping. Be prepared to spend an hour combing the aisles for the perfect plants — you’ll be glad you did.
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- Webster20050 Gulf Fwy, Webster, TX 77598
281-557-7399 - League City2155 Gulf Fwy, League City, TX 77573
800-732-2062 - Pasadena3600 East Sam Houston Pkwy S, Pasadena, TX 77505
281-487-4830 - Pearland13403 South Fwy, Houston, TX 77047
713-433-6157 - Kingwood22655 US-59, Humble, TX 77339
281-312-1163 - The Woodlands24800 Interstate 45 N, The Woodlands, TX 77386
281-298-2082 - Houston14135 East Fwy, Houston, TX 77015
713-451-6911 - Houston5345 W Loop S, Houston, TX 77081
713-218-0860 - Katy525 W Grand Pkwy S, Katy, TX 77494
281-395-1900 - Mission Bend9811 Penton Dr, Sugar Land, TX 77498
281-463-8815 - Houston10763 I-10 W, Houston, TX 77079
713-935-9401 - Sugar Land20415 Southwest Fwy, Richmond, TX 77469
281-344-0353 - Sugar Land7225 Hwy 6, Missouri City, TX 77459
281-499-8488 - Humble5502 FM 1960, Humble, TX 77346
281-812-4840 - Katy21530 Katy Fwy, Katy, TX 77449
281-599-1130 - Houston23260 Northwest Fwy, Cypress, TX 77429
281-373-2239 - Houston1700 W Loop N Fwy, Houston, TX 77008
713-218-0860 - Houston10815 Farm to Market 1960 Rd W, Houston, TX 77070
713-218-0860 - Copperfield6072 Hwy 6 N, Houston, TX 77084
281-463-8815 - Tomball24800 TX-249, Tomball, TX 77375
281-351-4848 - Spring20080 Holzwarth Rd, Spring, TX 77388
281-288-7574
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In the Garden
Curator’s Pick
If you’re looking for a unique piece to update your patio or backyard, you’ve got to check out this small garden-shop-in-a-bungalow. Inside the shop, nearly every space is decorated with quaint home decor accessories like framed wall art, hanging planters, and dried wreaths. Outside, they’ve got larger pieces, like fountains, statues, and birdbaths nestled among the plants. Walking through the stone pathway feels more like visiting a charming garden than shopping. The vintage outdoor tables and chairs look at home, too, among the greenery and bright flowers, but they’re also for sale so get ready to pack up your trunk.
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JRN Nursery 2
Curator’s Pick
Venture inside JRN Nursery 2, where you’ll find a large selection of seasonal plants and exotic fruit trees like kumquats and sapodilla. To explore their large variety of indoor and outdoor plants, vegetables, and herbs, you’ll need to carefully navigate the tightly-packed greenhouses. Nice surprises await though, like plants potted in decorative pots ready-for-purchase and perfect for gifting. Houstonians who love Asian-inspired plants like Bonsai and water plants have been repeat customers for over 10 years. They come back for the low prices, and because the quality and health of the plants at this Houston garden center is worth the drive.
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Kingwood Garden Center
Curator’s Pick
You’ll discover a large selection of trees, shrubs, and tropical plants in various sizes and colors situated on the neatly-arranged aisles at Kingwood Garden Center near Houston. Their merchandise is well-organized by themes for easy browsing. Love gardening? Stop by their extensive seed wall, or choose from their tomato and pepper plants, and assorted herbs. You’ll love the satisfaction of cooking with ingredients! Not sure what will grow best in your yard? Their top reviewers are satisfied with the “knowledgeable staff and friendly service”, so they’ll be available to recommend the plants that will thrive in full-sun or shade.
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Maas Nursery
Curator’s Pick
At Maas Nursery, you’ll find everything from flowering plants and trees to colorful shrubbery and multi-leveled fountains. You’ll want to take your time, and look in all directions, including up, because there’s so much to see — it’s even hanging from the rafters. Their trees, shrubs, plants, and décor span eight acres, so wear durable shoes and be ready to spend a couple hours checking out all Maas has to offer. There is on-premise parking, but don’t be surprised if you have to park along the picturesque country road just beyond the entrance — this Seabrook destination is popular.
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Moon Valley Nurseries
Curator’s Pick
If you want to add that “wow” factor to your yard, check out the selection of ginormous trees and palms at Moon Valley Nurseries. This is a must-see garden center in Houston if you’re in search of huge trees, but you’ll also have your pick of smaller plants, shrubs, and ground cover, too. Ever dreamed of creating your own orchard? Here, you’ll discover fruit, nut, and citrus trees to make that dream a reality. Moon Valley offers delivery and free planting of all their box-sized trees and palms so you can leave the digging to the experts.
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Plants for All Seasons
Curator’s Pick
Not sure what to plant and when? Plants for All Seasons, among the best Houston garden centers, offers advice on selecting drought-tolerant plants native to Houston and can tell you the ideal time to plant bulbs and veggies. This is a great place for green thumbs and newbie gardeners alike — they offer horticulture classes to help you learn more about gardening. The classes are held in an air-conditioned facility, but if the weather is beautiful you might find their master gardeners teaching class in the garden. Can’t-miss tip: bring your own pot and they’ll design an arrangement of plants for you.
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RCW Nurseries
Curator’s Pick
When approaching the RCW Nurseries sign, you’ll see it features “Bud”, a colorful Hahn’s macaw who’s the beloved mascot at this Houston garden center. Animal lovers and kids will love this — Bud is actually a living bird who, among many other rescue birds, lives on the property. But, let’s talk about plants! If native trees are what you’re looking for, RCW Nurseries has been growing them for over 40 years, so you can count on finding trees, plants, shrubs, and annuals that will thrive in your Houston yard. They also carry an extensive selection of products for DIY gardening enthusiasts.
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Shades of Texas
Curator’s Pick
Whether you’re a homeowner replacing a couple of palms, or a commercial contractor planning a complete landscaping overhaul, you’ll find Shades of Texas is one of the best Houston garden centers for big jobs. They’ve got trees, shrubs, and plants native to the region, so you don’t have to worry about their hardiness, plus natural stones, gravel, rocks, and mulch to enhance the look of your yard. For small projects and quick refreshes - choose some colorful pots from their showroom to brighten your porch or patio, or pick some flowering plants to create attention-getting curb appeal.
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Tall Plants
Curator’s Pick
Don’t let the name fool you, Tall Plants nursery specializes in plants of all sizes. Whether you want an arrangement of succulents or a towering ivy pole, you can find the ideal plant for your green thumb here. In addition to their popular fiddle leaf figs, bromeliads, and palms, they carry a large variety of hanging plants, cacti, orchids, and topiaries, with new shipments arriving several times a week. Tall Plants has been in business for over 40 years; if you’ve got questions, they’ve got answers. Note: this is the only Houston garden center we found that offers short-term plant rentals.
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The Cactus King
Curator’s Pick
Once you’ve been to The Cactus King, you just might think you’ve seen everything. Sure, you’ll find the largest collection of cacti and succulents for sale in the world, but you’ll also discover unusual sculptures among the plants. If you’ve got questions, their staff has valuable advice about selecting the best plants for your landscaping projects (or suggest an indoor alternative). This isn’t the kind of place where you feel like you’re being sold the highest-dollar item — many reviewers boast about their affordable finds, making it a favorite Houston garden center among locals. Note: only cash and checks accepted.
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