Garden Centres
Steveston garden center 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.
Delta soil and a high water table decide what survives a Richmond winter. The whole island is reclaimed farmland behind dykes, and a bed that drains beautifully in North Vancouver can sulk here from November to March. A garden center that buys for those conditions is worth more than a seasonal rack at a big-box store, where the stock is chosen for a region rather than a floodplain.
Perennials, annuals and ornamental grasses are the strength here, with containers, garden statuary and giftware filling out the rest. Grasses in particular suit this landscape. They handle the wind off the water, they look right against a flat horizon, and they do something in February when everything else has given up. Hanging baskets are the seasonal event, and anyone who wants first pick goes early in the season and early in the day.
The No. 1 Road address sits in south Richmond on the run toward Steveston, out where the residential grid thins and the flat open ground starts showing itself. Getting there is a drive for most people, and the surrounding blocks are quiet in a way the City Centre garden aisles never are. The seasonal swing is obvious from the road: bare through the winter, then loaded and busy inside about three weeks in spring. Seasonal hours are not carried on this listing, so it is worth checking before a winter visit.
In the Steveston neighbourhood of Richmond.
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Other garden centres and nearby businesses in the Richmond directory.
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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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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French-leaning cafe set just off No. 1 Road at the quiet edge of Steveston Village, doing savoury and sweet crepes, sandwiches and proper coffee. A calmer option when the Moncton Street cafes fill up with weekend visitors.
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Steveston practice led by Dr. James Cadigan, mixing everyday dentistry with cosmetic work such as veneers, whitening and invisible braces. Also offers sedation, laser treatment and TMJ care for jaw pain that other offices refer elsewhere.
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From the blog
Longer reads from the editor, with the places worth a detour linked inside them.
The Night Market's final season is the loud story. The quieter one: free admission at the Cannery ends Monday, Britannia keeps summer hours through Sunday, and Steveston does sunsets better than anyone.
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Nothing on Alexandra Road is a secret. 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.
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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.
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