Hi Kristine,

I live in LA. My favorite source of local seeds and native plants is the Theodore Payne Nursery. Check out their website: theodorepaynenursery.org
The location is sun valley. They always have new plants/seed inventory. The staff is really friendly. Overall it's a fun place to find native plants or any seed you are looking for.
:) Firegurl

A list of nurseries that are worth a visit and are close together-ish:

Organic art Plants and design
260 N Glassell St, Orange, CA
unusual perenials-hanging plants
(Excellent antique stores nearby, have lunch at the Cuban restaurant on the circle:)

M & M nursery
380 N Tustin St, Orange, CA
nice variety.beautiful nursery.

Upland nursery
1518 N Tustin St, Orange, CA
Japanese-water garden-specimen-tropicals- perennials awesome!

Village Nurseries
1582 N Tustin St, Orange, CA
Large variety of common and not so common.nextdoor to upland

Green mart
400 W Lincoln Ave, Orange, CA
Michelia Alba! unusual fruit trees-tropicals

How about good old Wal-Mart? I've seen clematis there, just purchased healthy looking Hass Avocado and Pink Guava trees.
Granted they don't always have this in stock but still worthwile to check. They even have guava seeds, hibiscus rootings and papaya seeds (I have a little baby one growing from one of the seeds). I go to the one in West Hills in the western part of San Fernando valley.

I forgot a good one.

Country Roads
204 West Chapman  Orange CA 92866
rustic garden/nursery in back with unique planters and cool rusty stuff, not to mention unusual plants I have never seen anywhere else. Also a good greek cafe across the street.

I am assuming that you enjoy the hunting part as well as the finding part.

In north Orange County in Seal Beach there is Brita's Old Town Gardens - 225 Main St., Seal Beach (562) 430-5019

Thanks for all the great suggestions for nurseries. And restaurants and shopping! We love the adventure of checking out new areas. The kids and the man just drop me off at the nurseries though-- I always take too long. There is no such thing as a quick trip in and out of a nursery. I get distracted in front of the plants at Rite-Aid.

As for Wal-Mart: I don't shop at Wal-mart. But I have to say, I love garden sections at any store. You never know what you will find. SB doesn't have a Target or a Walmart, if you can believe it. We do have a Home Depot, and of course I have purchased many things there over the years.

I took my teenager and her friends to Target in Ventura on Friday (that's their idea of fun). I ended up with a rose, snapdragons, veronica, salvias, carnations, and coleuses to put in large pots to fill an old, large (and ugly!) fountain base at the back of my garden patio. Looks fabulous.

Can't wait till my next trip south. Am really looking forward to Theodore Payne Nursery. Thanks again everyone, Kristine

My favorite local nurseries are Green Thumb in Ventura off Victoria and the one in Calabasas just south of the 101. Name starts with S? If I lived closer to Theodore P, I would be there all the time!

Kathy

Try San Gabriel Nursery: http://www.sgnursery.com

If you like Chinese food, some of the best (and cheapest) Chinese food outside of China can be found in San Gabriel.

Sperling's is the one in Calabasas. Nice place. Of course Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach is a great place to visit. They usually have a good gardening seminar on Saturday or Sunday morning @ 9am.

Here are some great retailers, some of which are much closer to home than L.A....

Australian Native Plants Nursery
9040 North Ventura Road
Casitas Springs 93001
805-649-3362
Australian plants
ausnat@west.net
http://www.australianplants.com/

Burkard's Nursery
690 N. Orange Grove Blvd.
Pasadena 91103
626-796-4255
General, esp. roses, bulbs
info@burkardnursery.com
http://www.burkards.com/

San Gabriel Nursery
632 S. San Gabriel Blvd.
San Gabriel 91776
626-286-1096
Azaleas, bulbs
sangabrielnursery@earthlink.net
http://www.sgnursery.com/

Seaside Gardens
3700 Via Real
Carpenteria
805-684-6001
Upscale retail
http://www.seaside-gardens.com

Turk Hesselund Nursery
1255 Coast Village Road
Montecito 93108
969-5871
Plant lovers' paradise

Joe

2nd the votes for Roger's Gardens in OC and Burkard's in Pasadena! If you ever go west, Marina Gardens Nursery is a nice one in Marina del Rey.

Ditto on Green Thum and Sperling's for selection and good organisation. I also like Baron Brothers in Camarillo. I usually shop at Nordic Nursery in Newbury Park, but only because the staff is so great. The selection and prices .... aren't. But the staff is really, really great and I appreciate that.

As far as specialty or out of the way nurseries, I have to recommend Las Pilitas. They sell natives. There's one near you, and one near San Diego. if I lived near one I would go frequently - as it is I go when driving that way. If you like hummingbirds and butterflies, make sure you check out their website.

Here is a link that might be useful: Las Pilitas nursery

Since you enjoy shopping and restaurants, be sure to visit Brita's Old Town Gardens in Seal Beach when in the area. The nursery, as the name implies, is located in Old Town Seal Beach and there are interesting antique shops and eating spots in that area. Avoid weekends if you can because it gets pretty busy...... and call to confirm that Brita's is open because I think they may be closed on Mondays.

I agree with holedigger as far as Village and M&M. When I am feeling adventurous I make it a point to drive down to Plant Depot in San Juan Capistrano. That is my absolute favorite place to be. I always find lots of things that I can't possibly live without.

Hello all. New to this. Desperately needing an organic source near our home (nursery or similar)
Any suggestions within a 20 mile radius of Northridge?
San fernando valley, Santa Clarita Valley or San Gabriel Valley?
Thank you.

Gonna add my votes for:

San Gabriel Nursery (huge bonsai selection in addition to everything else)

Roger's Nursery in Newport Beach (hey if you can have a nursery on $$$ millions of dollars of ocean-close real estate this is IT)(plus has a LOT of cool gifts, AND a gianormous Christmas shop in season)

Green Thumb Nurseries (several locations)(just bought $1 k of citrus from them because they were the cheapest (and best) I could locate in OC with the varieties I wanted)

Just wanted to mention Moneta nursery in Gardena on Vermont just north of Rosecrans. They have it all and more. I have been half looking for a Kishu mandarin orange tree for awhile and stopped in there 2 weekends ago and bingo, several to choose from. They are not far from my favorite pottery warehouse. Bring the truck.

http://www.potterymfg.com/aboutus.cfm

Here is a link that might be useful: pottery mfg

We're mainly producing Vietnamese glazed outdoor pottery. We ship direct wholesale pottery containers from our factories in Vietnam to the distributors, importers and businesses in the U.S. and all over the world

Here is a link that might be useful: pottery manufacturers