Hidden Neighborhood Gem.....
Pros: Great selection of healthy looking plants at a reasonable cost.
Cons: None.
Star Ratings:
- Overall: 5
- Location: 4
- Selection: 5
- Website: 4
- Health of Plants: 5
- Service: 5
- Cost: 5
- Parking: 4
When my wife and I need some plants to fill space in our garden or replace ones which didn't quite make it, we do what most people seem to do and visit a local nursery. In the past, we've gotten everything from one of the Miner hardware stores, especially those in Arroyo Grande and San Luis Obispo because they've got large garden departments. But such spots have their limits and can't provide the selection and service of a real nursery.
Friends recommended M and A Nursery in Nipomo because it's about the same distance from our house in Nipomo as the nearby Miner's and they've had good luck with everything bought there. So we visited on a Saturday afternoon.
- Location: Interesting. M and A is just off Division Street about 1/2 mile southwest of the Cowgirl Cafe. It borders a residential neighborhood and, in fact, is adjacent to a house and driveway which might belong to the owners of M and A. It's worth a little extra effort to find it.
- Selection: Huge. There are tons of bushes, plants and trees with many examples of each located side-by-side for easy comparison. Another difference between a nursery at a hardware store and M and A is most plants we saw came in at least 5 gallon containers...not the 1 gallon (or smaller) versions we often see. However, one thing we didn't find was a selection of vegetables. Maybe they'll have one in the spring.
- Website: Has an up-to-date listing of everything in stock. I didn't see it before our visit, but went afterwards and was quite impressed.
- Health of plants: Excellent. It's impossible to do a close inspection on everything in sight, but from the ones we needed and an eyeball look across the nursery, M and A takes very good care of their inventory.
- Service: Fine. We didn't see lots of employees, but then again we didn't see many customers during our 30 minute visit. The woman who helped us was friendly, knowledgeable and lowered the cost of 2 of our plants because they were recently repotted and hadn't fully rebuilt their roots.
- Cost: Very reasonable. Even if we paid full price for those 2 plants, the cost was cheaper than anything we've seen at Miner's...not to mention the healthier appearance. The many examples of red bougainvillea were amazing. Tall, wide and full of vibrant flowers for only $65.
- Parking: On the street. There's a wide shoulder along Sequoia Street just outside M and A where we parked which was convenient for us to pull a wagon with our plants to the car.
If my wife and I had known about M and A when we first moved to Nipomo at the end of April 2018, I'm sure we would have been regular customers in short order. It's never too late to start. read more