Richmond gardens on peat. The soil is deep, acidic and rich, the water table is high, and the whole island sits barely above sea level, which makes raised beds, container growing and salt-wind-tolerant planting normal practice rather than specialist advice, and a local nursery will tell you that before selling you anything.
The growers are genuinely local. Nurseries and greenhouse operations work the agricultural land in East Richmond, Gilmore and along the No. 5 Road corridor, selling bedding plants, shrubs, soil and bark mulch straight off the site. Closer in, the plaza garden shops and the big-box yards at Ironwood and Bridgeport cover the spring rush. Seasonal hours are listed where published.
Plant nursery on No. 5 Road in Richmond's farm belt that is far bigger inside than it looks from the road. Indoor, outdoor and tropical plants, vases and gardening supplies, with staff who help match a plant to the room it is going in.
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Large No. 5 Road nursery with an unexpectedly deep range of indoor, outdoor and tropical plants along with pots, soil and gardening supplies. It opens at 8:30 each morning, which suits gardeners who want to shop before the heat.
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Destination nursery on No. 6 Road in east Richmond known for unusual perennials, edibles and rare plants you will not find at a big box. It runs plant workshops and mail order, and is open daily through the growing season.
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Steveston garden centre on No. 1 Road with a strong perennial, annual and ornamental grass selection, plus containers, garden statuary and giftware. Its hanging baskets pull in shoppers from well beyond Richmond each spring.
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Family greenhouse operation on No. 2 Road near Steveston that grows about 90 percent of what it sells across roughly 25,000 square feet of glass. Best known for hanging baskets, geraniums and bedding plants, plus bulbs in fall.
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From the blog
Guides and roundups written for Richmond, with the businesses linked inline.
Nothing on Alexandra Road is a hidden gem. It is just in a strip mall with bad signage and no patio, which is why visitors never find it. Here is how I actually use Richmond's plazas and food courts, which specialists are worth the drive, and when not to bother.
The West Dyke Trail is about five and a half kilometres of flat gravel between Terra Nova Rural Park and Garry Point, and I ride it most mornings. Here is what is actually at the north end, which way to walk so the wind is on your side, and why winter is the better season for it.
I live four blocks off Moncton Street, so this is the Steveston I actually use: where to park before the Bayview lots fill, how to buy fish straight off the boats at the wharf, the honest answer to the Pajo's versus Dave's question, and why the history here is not decoration.
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