Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Here are San Diego’s top five Nurseries! Experience the best in local artistry, showcasing exceptional skill, creativity, and innovation that make them stand out. Let’s explore the finest Nursery excellence San Diego has to offer.
Your local plant shop for beginner and expert plant lovers alike. Located at 3504 Adams Ave in Normal Heights, we are lucky to be surrounded by other small businesses. We carry a variety of houseplants, planters, candles, accessories, and more! We also host yoga and events in our amazing space amongst the plants!
As of April 2022, Kailie is the proud new owner of Wild Island!
It has always been her dream to create a welcoming space for the community. Plants are scientifically proven to help improve your mood and what better way to help the community than to inspire happiness with plants! The overwhelming sense of awe and peace people feel when they enter our jungle is her favorite part of running the shop.
We hope you’ll stop in soon to pick out a new plant baby and hang out with us in our little urban jungle!
January & James started Wild Island Collective in 2019. Inspired by January’s childhood days in Hawaii and their love of nature and the outdoors, she wanted to bring a little of the wildness of nature, and that slow easy pace of island time, to our city, and thus, Wild Island was born.
Plants & Products
North Park Nursery carries a wide range of high-quality interior and exterior plants suitable for Southern Californian landscapes. We offer a large variety of houseplants, succulents, cacti, California natives, edibles, pots, and garden supplies. Whether looking to expand your collection, grow a garden, or pick out your very first plant, North Park Nursery is here to serve you.
Houseplants
We carry a diverse array of beautiful, healthy houseplants. Stock changes from week to week, but you’ll often find favorites such as Calatheas, Monsteras, Marantas, Pothos, Cordatum, Aglaonemas, Dieffenbachia, Sansevieria, Dracaenas, and so much more! We also love bringing in rare finds from time to time such as Begonia Maculata, African Mask, Alocasia Black Velvet, & Jewel Orchid. Keep up with us on Instagram @northparknursery to see some of what we offer!
Succulents & Cacti
Looking for something drought-tolerant and low-maintenance? Check out our selection of succulents and cacti! These plants thrive in sunny Southern California and are great for beginners and experienced alike.
California Native Plants
We proudly carry California native plants grown by Moosa Creek Nursery. Click here to learn more.
Edibles & Seeds
Here at the nursery, our motto is Never Stop Growing. What better way to embody that than by planting a garden? We carry fruits, herbs, and veggies during planting season and a variety of seeds year-round.
Pots
Come visit us to check out our selection of glazed, decorative, and terra cotta pots! We offer a variety of colors, sizes, and styles, and we look forward to helping you find the perfect ones for your space.
Seasonal, Gifts, & Arrangements
Searching for the perfect Christmas tree, gift, or special arrangement? Shop local! North Park Nursery offers Christmas trees, poinsettias, cyclamen, and Christmas cactus during the holiday season. Our gift shop offers candles, jewelry, locally made soaps, home décor, and more. For something customizable, ask our staff about making or ordering a beautiful potted arrangement. Interested in giving a gift card? Purchase one here.
Garden Supplies
Healthy plants are a priority here at North Park Nursery. Our knowledgeable staff can help you find the soil, fertilizer, natural pesticides, and plant food that’s right for you and your plants. We also offer liners, grow pots, clippers, stakes, watering cans, misters, and more.
Walter Andersen Nursery was opened in 1928 by Walter Andersen Sr. on Juan Street in Old Town near the intersection of Taylor Street. In the early years of the company, Walter Andersen Nursery provided landscaping and garden services, from maintenance to landscape design and installation as well as selling plants and supplies. Over the years the landscape and plant sales grew to be the majority of the business and the maintenance side was phased out. Throughout the depression the business grew. Walter Andersen’s reputation for supplying the finest plant material and providing quality landscaping grew as well.
Beautifying San Diego
Walter Andersen left his mark on San Diego in many ways. Some of the larger projects he worked on over the years include The San Diego Post Office downtown, the County Administration building, numerous projects for the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, the Westgate Hotel, National Steel and Shipbuilding, and Westgate Park the original Mission Valley home of the San Diego Padres, and the Christmas Tree-shaped Cedrus deodoras planted in the center median along Orange Avenue in Coronado just to name a few. Walter Andersen Nursery has also participated and supported many flower and garden shows over the years. From the Orchid Show to the Coronado Flower Show and the Del Mar Fair. Walter Andersen Nursery is the longest running exhibitor at the Del Mar Fair Flower Show, not missing an exhibition since its inception in 1938.
A Family Affair
As the plant sales grew to be a larger portion of the business, Walter Sr. and his son Walter Jr. decided to stop landscaping and concentrate on selling plants and gardening supplies. From then on, Walter Andersen solidified its standing as the gardening authority in San Diego. Daily operation of the nursery was turned over to Walter Jr. in the mid 1970s, but Walter Sr. continued to take an active role in the business and was at the store six days a week until shortly before his death in 1983. Walter Jr. and his wife Jolene’s son, Ken, joined the management of the nursery in. After receiving a bachelors degree in business in 1986, Ken became General Manager of Nursery Operations. Walter Andersen Jr. continues to work as president of the company. Karen Andersen Thatcher, Ken’s sister, has worked for the nursery since 1995. Her husband joined the nursery full-time in 1996 as construction manager for the Poway store.
Expanding & Growing
In 1995, the decision was made to expand the nursery operation by opening a second store. After careful study and consideration, a piece of property was purchased in Poway for the second store. This store is twice the size of the Point Loma store and serves the communities of Poway, Scripps Ranch, Peñasquitos, and Carmel Mountain Ranch. The store opened in the summer of 1998. In 2011, the San Diego Ad Club chose Walter Andersen Nursery as one of the 100 Most Influential San Diego Brands of the last 100 years. In 2018, the company celebrated a great milestone reaching its 90th anniversary in business. Walter Andersen Nursery has been in the SAN DIEGO BUSINESS JOURNAL list of San Diego’s Oldest Businesses for a number of years.
2020 & Beyond!
Today, the nurseries are still family-owned and operated with Walter Jr. as Chairman. Jolene continues to work in the main office overseeing financial, accounting and operational issues, Ken Andersen serves as President & CEO of Nursery Operations, Karen Andersen-Thatcher serves as VP of Human Resources and CFO for the company, and John Thatcher oversees various construction projects for the company. Ken’s wife, Melanie, is Director of Marketing and Publications for the company.
Our Plant Quality Guarantee
What to Expect From Walter Andersen Nursery Plants
Installing the plants in your landscape is your final step in the design process. Depending upon what you and your designer have decided, you may have opted to use smaller, less expensive plants with the understanding that you don’t mind waiting for them to grow and fill in. Some homeowners want to see a finished look immediately and will opt to buy larger, more expensive plants.
When you purchase plants at Walter Andersen Nursery, you are buying a plant that is a larger ‘retail grade’ plant rather than a smaller ‘landscape grade’ plant offered by box stores or some wholesale nurseries. The plants sold at the nursery are grown by growers that nur-ture plants to give them a good start so they will perform well in your landscape and remain healthy. Walter Andersen Nursery warranties its plants for 90 days and will work with you to ensure your plant’s success.
When your plant order is placed, it can take up to two weeks for the growers to provide the items you request, if they aren’t available out of our inventory. Walter Andersen Nursery will hold your plants until your order is complete, and can coordinate with your installer (whether it is a contractor or yourself) the delivery of the plants.
The integrity of your design is important. If you work with a designer, they will select plant varieties that they are confident will meet your needs. It is important that you or your designer be aware of plants that may be unavailable. In this case a substitution may be necessary. Our nursery knows how important it is to share this information with you. Making substitutions without your knowledge or your designer’s knowledge can compromise your design. On the rare occasion when this occurs, our buyers will work closely with you or your designer to find a substitution that does not detract from your overall design.
In this last step of a project that is so important to you and the look of your home, remember that you’ll get what you pay for. Let Walter Andersen Nursery help you put the final touch on your landscape.
4. City Farmers
At City Farmers source our plants from healthy origins and maintained conscientiously under ecologically minded standards. For our drygoods, this means we do our best to balance a unique selection you won’t find anywhere else with local and American-made options.As a small business that strives to be a leader in our community, we do our best to make each purchase and all plant maintenance as ecologically sound as possible – while still finding a way to care for our staff and keep our doors open.
This being said, it’s important that you know that our nursery is not certified organic. The truth is, to organically certify our products and grounds is beyond our means. But we have taken steps to come as close to the principles we and you want.
You can count on us to offer vegetable seeds, pest solutions, poultry feed, soils, and fertilizers that are certified organic. We maintain our grounds and our plants with non-chemical pest treatment like fish emulsion to treat normal nursery pests.
We do our very best to source organic, local, zero-waste and American made products and with an eye to the future, are constantly working within our industry to promote change to sustainable product that creates jobs, helps heal our planet, and still provides everyone in the process with an opportunity to put food on the table for their families, and yours.
Green Gardens Nursery is located in the heart of Pacific Beach, Green Gardens Nursery has been a family owned and operated business for over forty years. Founder, Paul Backus, prides the nursery on its extensive plant selection, superior quality and friendly staff. Catering to the local community and customers, your needs are always our number one priority! We offer expert knowledge and an eco-conscious, organic approach specific to gardening and plant care.
Have a problem area in your yard? A pest that has been ravaging your garden? Bring pictures or a sample into our Pacific Beach nursery and our knowledgeable staff would be more than happy to help solve your garden problems with a natural solution.
To complement an extensive plant and plant care inventory, Green Gardens Nursery houses top quality imported pottery, specialty fountains, indoor/outdoor garden decor, and endless home and garden accessories. If you can’t find exactly what you are looking for at our nursery, we are happy to custom order, deliver, and set up the perfect piece you have been searching for. We proudly offer free local delivery of any purchase over $100 and free delivery and set-up of fountains and pottery.
For the Holiday Season we have a beautiful selection of fresh Christmas trees, wreaths, greenery, garlands, poinsettias, ornaments, gifts and decor. We offer a great delivery package for a water pan, stand, disposal bag and delivery. Check out our extended holiday hours and come in with the whole family to enjoy cider and cookies.