“Plants are cheaper than therapy.”

House plants are totally rad.

Here are some reasons why you should consider putting house plants in your home:

a lot of house plants clean the air (sansevieria, aloe, spider plants etc.)
they are so darn cute
watching them grow is really fun
seeing your plant grow will make you feel amazing

People often ask me where I like to go plant shopping. That is a loaded question to me because each shop is different. I do know that I prefer to shop at local businesses instead of big chain stores—I'm all for shopping local. I also go gaga for stores with lots of handmade goods that also have plants (hand thrown ceramics make me drool).

So here is a list of my top 5 favorite plant stores in the San Francisco Bay Area:

5. Flowerland (Albany, CA)

I definitely found out about Flowerland on Instagram. It was Pride week and everyone in the bay was repping rainbow, love it by the way. I saw a picture of their shop front where they had outdoor chairs in a line on top of their building, each chair being a color in the rainbow. I was like, this is cool. So I went and checked it out. Well well well, I was pleasantly surprised by how awesome this plant shop is. It is very large, probably the largest one in the list, with a lot of outdoor plants as well. Outside there is an airstream that serves coffee—so cute! The inside area where the registers are is where all the house plants are and many plant related gifts. They had some awesome pots within different price ranges which I really loved, but what I was really impressed by was their plant related book collection! They had a few books I’ve had my eye on for a while which was nice to finally be able to get ahold of. This is definitely a “pretty” shop so make sure to bring your camera/charge your phone!

4. Plant and Pottery Outlet (Sunol)

This was the first nursery in California I ever went to. They have a greenhouse dedicated to just house plants, it’s absolutely magical. They are family owned and often have sales during holiday weekends. Whenever I go here it reminds me of when I didn’t know much about houseplants, and also how much I’ve grown in this hobby. When you’re in their greenhouse, I guarantee you too will become a plant enthusiast (if you aren’t already!). If you’re looking for a large plant, I would definitely check this place out. I also think their prices are very reasonable for the quality of plants they sell. This is where I bought my Monstera Deliciosa, and boy was I excited! Oh, and of course they have amazing pots/planters! Lots of large ones for outside too at reasonable prices. They have a whole lot dedicate to discounted pots if you cross their little bridge to the other side of the nursery (hence the name). Aren’t these pots awesome?

3. The Dry Garden (Berkeley)

Oh The Dry Garden is amazing. To be honest I wanted to rate this as my #1 but to be fair there are more drought tolerant plants (cacti and succulents) than house plants. However, if you’re looking for hard to find drought tolerant plants, this is the place to be. They have some really unusual cacti and succulents. I was lucky enough to score some sansevieria sayuri here—which in the moment I thought was sansevieria bantel sensation, whoops. I also saw some other unusual sansevieria when I went, at decent prices. This place is also independently owned, I think it is ran by two guys who are both very nice.

Funny story, the first time I went here I totally missed the hot house (pictured) which is the most epic part of the shop besides the checkout area where they have all their super rare plants. It’s definitely a Kodak moment. So when you go, don’t forget to check out their hot house! It’s in the back of the nursery, so go all the way back and swing a left!

2. Roots (San Francisco)

Ah, Roots. When Jamie and I went to Roots in SF—we both were freaking out. It’s literally an indoor jungle, it’s absolutely incredible. Their small space is covered head to toe in beautiful house plants, small and large. You feel like you’re in a jungle—your body being enveloped in beautiful greenery. But what makes this store so amazing is the shop owner, Michelle. She is awesome and full of life, I loved meeting her. She is the true definition of a plant person: very generous, kind and knowledgable. The shop contained a lot of unusual plants, it’s one of those places you need to look hard or you might miss something magical. I saw lots of different kinds of sansevieria which is always a treat. Here is my favorite picture I snapped while there, look at the size of that Bird of Paradise! You can even see a new leaf emerging. This is just a small part of the shop, you’ll have to go see the rest of it yourself :), can’t ruin the whole experience right?

AND MY #1 PICK IS……..

1. Encinal Nursey (Alameda)

I love Encinal Nursery so much, it’s definitely a plant shop you must visit. It’s very much a family owned shop, and I was lucky enough to meet the shop owner’s daughter who I think owns the actual shop. This is where I got my unicorn plant—the ficus triangularis variagata, which is one of the reasons why this is my favorite nursery in all of the Bay Area (so far). I don’t think she has any more of this plant though since I bought the mother plant and I think she sold the rest of what she propagated. This nursery contains an amazing hot house full of everything planty, it has a very good variety of everything which is another reason why I chose this shop as my #1 pick. I saw some very unusual cacti when I last went. The first time I went here I stayed for over an hour, crazy plant lady much? It’s quite the experience to walk down the hot house, I give it 5 stars!