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Pasadena, CA

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The Magic of Growing

5.0 (2 reviews)
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Present Perfect - Perfect pots for my birds of paradise.

Present Perfect

4.9(109 reviews)
2.2 mi•Chapman
•$

There's a lot of SGV nurseries I rotate around, but this is my favorite one right now. The property…read moreis pretty big with shaded sections with many many options, from cactus and low water shrubs to indoor plants and native plants. Prices were very competitive, when I was there today, a lot of the pots were on sale too. I was actually just there to get some mulch. My favorite part was finding native plants here. And I managed to snag the last white sage, and they still had plenty of narrowleaf milkweed for anyone else also looking to help save some monarch butterflies. I also love that this nursery has been around for 35 years and the owner is still super active, chatting with customers and carrying my mulch bag for me. I was like should I be carrying it myself?

The nursery is pretty much in the middle of nowhere in Pasadena. I arrived at around 4:50 p.m.,…read morejust about when they were closing. Two Latino staff members were very kind and helpful, though they did not speak much English. The place feels more like Descanso Gardens than the Huntington Library. It has a more natural, relaxed atmosphere, with a less formal and more organic layout. The plants feel closer to their natural state, which gives the whole nursery a very pleasant and genuine charm. What really stands out is the price. It already looks cheaper than Armstrong, and possibly even negotiable, but the quality does not feel worse at all. The plants look healthy, beautiful, and well cared for, so it feels like a better-value choice rather than a lower-quality one. They have mostly green plants, with only a small selection of flowering plants, but everything looks great. For plants, especially shrubs, many varieties come in different sizes at different price points, so you can choose based on your needs and budget.

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Present Perfect - Triple full rose

Triple full rose

Present Perfect - Plants.

Plants.

Present Perfect - Unique blooming fig

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Unique blooming fig

Blvd Nursery - Love this place!

Blvd Nursery

4.5(169 reviews)
3.3 mi•West Central
•$$

I had a money tree in a low bisque glazed piece of architectural pottery and let's just say it had…read moreseen better days. So I put it out of its misery. And subsequently sought some of my local nurseries, pottery in hand, to find a suitable replacement plant. The first one I tried was a super hip spot in Highland Park. They were closed, no hours posted. IG famous? Then another on Fig. Almost no stock, nobody working. The Silver Lake one I had frequented for years was empty, but the dude I spoke with said 'yeah, pick out the plant you want.' I said 'well that's the part I could use some help with.' He pretended not to hear. I left. I remembered a spot on York but couldn't find and and then recalled the name: BLVD. Turns out they have one in Pasadena. GPS said 15 minutes. Let's do this. I found it and parked easily. Impressive stock, elevated minimal design, lots of concrete and stone planters, great pots, lots of texture, and a curated selection, from super cool architectural plants all the way down to humble basil. I approached a group of men resting under an awning. Turns out they'd just built it. Ramon jumped right in and showed me why BLVD is the absolute best. It was a blisteringly hot day but he showed me lots of options and talked everything through with a super positive attitude and lots of great information. Truly a first class experience. Love the interior space too, lots of room to see how plants and their vessels play out aesthetically. We settled on a Queensland bottle tree -- he planted it and gave it a proper zhuzh with some gravel, and sent me on my way, beautiful plant in my car. The experience was so positive that I'm plotting more foliage upgrades. Keep you posted. Until then, thank you BLVD, thank you Ramon.

Super unreliable. . At this point it's one big joke full of excuse. Im not gonna write a whole…read moreparagraph. Good luck working with them. Ridiculous!!!!!!!!

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Blvd Nursery - A couple small easy care plants

A couple small easy care plants

Blvd Nursery - Cute!

Cute!

Blvd Nursery - Ceramic pot selection

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Ceramic pot selection

Armstrong Garden Centers - Iceland Poppy

Armstrong Garden Centers

3.5(215 reviews)
4.4 mi
•$$

They don't have akadama, but I got a nice little Japanese garden juniper to play with and made it…read moreinto a pretty cascading bonsai. Just getting into practicing bonsai, so please forgive the sloppy wiring. I'll redo these after a little break. My first attempt at doing bonsai and it's a shohin, I suppose. Oh and I repotted it in a slightly larger pot since I was stuffing it into this tiny 4" blue one and the tilt required a rock under one side. I also didn't want to take off too much rooting to fit the pot and kill the plant. Hope she lives!

3/30/26 I just knew I was going to receive the best service here. Instantly as I walked up to…read moreAudel, this staffer was ready & very accommodating with answers & recommendations. The garden center is immaculately maintained & inventory is plentiful. I was looking to find a professional to recommend a liner for my planter to prevent corrosion, so I may reuse it for the next season for other plantings. Audel suggested a liner that prevents weeds from proliferating as well. It turns out Hubby has a roll in the back of our truck. Bought fertilizer that he recommended & lantana as a draw for pollinators. I googled it & it states I plant it alongside my basil, tomato & marigolds. Parking is dedicated & free. Highly recommend this nursery. Staff are super helpful & cordial. Price-wise, may be equal to home dept or more but the service is topnotch comparably.

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Armstrong Garden Centers
Armstrong Garden Centers
Armstrong Garden Centers

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Bellefontaine Nursery - Queen of Sweden

Bellefontaine Nursery

4.6(101 reviews)
4.5 mi
•$$

I get ALL my David Austin roses here in this hidden gem as they have SO many options! Prices are…read moreunbeatable! Little small cute nursery tucked in Pasadena that has been passed down from generations before. Japanese owned by cousins. Don't expect a big fancy facility. Think small, family size, run down with character and many generations of love. Some of their David Austins: Strawberry Hill, Claire Austin, Teasing Georgia, Tranquility, Queen of Sweden, Mary Rose, Princess Alexandria of Kent, Crown Princess Margareta, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Olivia Rose, Charles Darwin, Carding Mill (tree form), Charlotte Rose, and many many more! They have an ENTIRE SECTION just for these beauties! 15 of my DAs are from here because they have the best price and best customer service! One of the owners, Dale, is so kind, helpful and knowledgable. He spends his time explaining everything and answering all my questions. He's very generous to even help us to the car. I left my number with Dale so when and if he gets more DAs, he will call me. What a great guy, right!?! That's what I call good customer service! I love this place and keep on coming back because it's family owned, kind owners, unbeatable prices, and willing to share their knowledge and wisedom. 100% recommend this gem!

Every plant that I have purchased from this nursery has done well. I can receive helpful…read moreinformation about planting, soil, and so much more by just asking.

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Bellefontaine Nursery - Tranquility

Tranquility

Bellefontaine Nursery - 5 David Austins are in here. I love making flower arrangements with them!

5 David Austins are in here. I love making flower arrangements with them!

Bellefontaine Nursery

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San Gabriel Nursery & Florist - Pincushion

San Gabriel Nursery & Florist

4.3(382 reviews)
5.6 mi
•$$

This was my first time visiting this nursery, and I had a wonderful experience! The staff were very…read morefriendly, attentive, and knowledgeable. They answered all of my questions about my plants, recommended what I needed, and even suggested more affordable options. I also got a healthy cucumber plant and received some coupons, which was a nice bonus. I forgot to ask the name of the tall older gentleman at the register, but he was incredibly helpful. Thank you! I'll definitely be back for the orchids--they're beautiful, and the nursery has an amazing selection of plants.

After visiting Present Perfect in Pasadena, I drove from north to south through the middle of the…read moreSan Gabriel Valley. There are several major north-south roads in this area, and Rosemead Boulevard is one of them. San Gabriel Boulevard is another. The road is wide and easy to drive. The nursery is right across the street from Com Tam Kieu Restaurant, one of the better Vietnamese broken rice restaurants in Southern California. On the way there, I passed a construction site, probably a new apartment building. It strongly gave me the impression of an EB-5 green card project, the kind of real estate development marketed less as a normal apartment building and more as an immigration investment package for Chinese buyers. In the middle of the SGV, that feeling was hard to miss. After that came the nursery. I drove from north to south, made a left turn onto a smaller street, and parked outside. The entrance is tiny. You walk through it and immediately reach the counter, where there was even a line. After that, you pass into an indoor room stocked with fertilizers, plant stakes, soil, mulch, and other gardening supplies. Beyond that is the back garden, which is much larger than expected and quite elegant. The plants are clearly well cared for, and the stone sculptures give the place a strong hint of Chinese culture. Along the edge of the main building, there are stacks of Buddha heads, seated Buddhas, and other stone figures, mostly in Chinese Buddhist or imagined Buddhist styles, though not necessarily following any strict traditional standard. There are Chinese signs everywhere, which makes sense for a nursery in the middle of the SGV. Many of the plants have bilingual names. The prices are not cheap, but they are fair. The orchids are much more expensive than what you would find at Trader Joe's or Costco, but they are also more beautiful and much stronger, so I would not call them overpriced. The plants use different colored tags, similar to what you see in many American discount stores. Some are very cost-effective. It is definitely worth stopping by, and even more worth it if you happen to find some good discounted plants. The cashier was a little rude, but as a Chinese person, I found it completely acceptable. I have seen much worse. Even though she was in a rush, the service was not bad. She even gave me an extra bag so the soil would not spill in my car. Overall, this is a good nursery and I would recommend it. It is even better if you understand Chinese culture, because many of the details will make more sense.

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San Gabriel Nursery & Florist - Pincushion

Pincushion

San Gabriel Nursery & Florist
San Gabriel Nursery & Florist

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The Standard Design Group Nurseries - Several wood planks are popping and the fence was not stained properly, which is why it's weathered too quickly

The Standard Design Group Nurseries

4.5(185 reviews)
3.8 mi

I loved this nursery. They sold me a sycamore tree and later I got a tulip tree. Both healthy and…read moredid well. Staff was always professional. I am sad the Lincoln Ave location closed as they moved their stock to their Hollywood location. But may still visit given previous excellent experience.

Substandard design and substandard installation…read more I contacted Standard Design Group to replace the 3/4" crushed rock that had washed away from my parking strip. I was thinking of using epoxy-stabilized gravel. I had other matching rock in the front yard. I expected to use something smaller per the epoxy maker's recommendations. Alan, Standard Design Group's designer, recommended using 3/4" crushed rock so it would match the pathway through the center of the front yard. This was terrible advice. Epoxy-coated rock is much darker than uncoated rock, so matching the size was irrelevant. The epoxy-coated 3/4" rock has enormous spaces between the rocks that trap trash and leaves and allow weeds, wildflowers, and the neighboring palm trees to germinate in them. Weeding the porous structure is very difficult. Pulling the wildflowers has broken loose large chunks of the epoxy-coated rock. Small chunks and individual rocks are breaking free from foot traffic. Alan never visited the site. He underestimated the amount of epoxy required. The installation crew's foreman was going to leave patches of the rock uncoated. When I saw it and told him that it was not what I expected, he had the workers mix some of the already coated and curing rock with the dusty, uncoated rock. This resulted in weak bonding with even larger spaces between the rocks. There were still uncoated patches left. I contacted Standard Design Group by email after the installation and again after chunks of rock began breaking free. I did not receive a response.

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The Standard Design Group Nurseries - Our end haul...

Our end haul...

The Standard Design Group Nurseries - Bandanna plant

Bandanna plant

The Standard Design Group Nurseries

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The Magic of Growing - gardening - Updated October 2026

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