Los Angeles is a paradise for plant parents!

Potted in Atwater Village | Photo: @tori.nucci, Instagram

5 more places to discover horticulture havens in the City of Angels.

1) POTTED

This long-running Atwater Village boutique far transcends just “plant store.” Also offering extensive outdoor décor, workshops and lectures, and landscape design services, Potted (3158 Los Feliz Blvd, Los Angeles 90039) should be one of your first stops when planning a backyard refresh or patio upgrade. Houseplants, air plants, cacti and succulents share this colorful and beautifully laid-out store with a carefully curated and decidedly eclectic array of fountains, fire pits, garden art, outdoor furniture and rugs, pottery, solar lights. From kitsch to cottage, vintage to modern, Potted is a prime spot for both original pieces and the creations of other unique artisans.

2) SARAH COTTA PLANTS

Sarah Cotta Plants
Photo: @sarahcottaplants, Instagram

Glendale’s first boutique plant store, Sarah Cotta Plants (401 N Verdugo Rd, Suite A, Glendale 91206) shuns the snobbery that so often accompanies “boutique,” instead welcoming everyone from beginners to seasoned aficionados. Even if you’ve never so much as touched a garden trowel, “Sarah the Plant Lady” and her knowledgeable staff will provide the tools and tips to discover your inner green thumb. Sarah Cotta Plants seems to carry it all in its well-ordered, unpretentiously cute corner premises, from popular indoor plants to rare and exotic specimens and species that’ll set your project apart. There are also plenty of pots and well-chosen gifts for the plant parents in your life, and all at fair prices.

3) SOUTH COAST BOTANIC GARDEN

Living Wall at South Coast Botanic Garden
Photo: Seasons Landscaping

Established 60 years ago, South Coast Botanic Garden (26300 Crenshaw Blvd, Palos Verdes Peninsula 90274) is something of a miracle, as the first such institution to be developed over a sanitary landfill. South Coast Botanic Garden is an oasis of themed gardens particularly rich in plants from South Africa and Australia - this lush, 87-acre botanical garden in the Palos Verdes Hills boasts more than 150,000 landscaped plants and trees from around 140 families, 700 genera, and 2,000 species. Aside from its long and bumpy driveway, this masterpiece of land reclamation barely betrays its unlikely past. Today you can lose yourself for hours amidst its ginkgos, pittosporums, flowering fruit trees and Coast Redwoods, with ducks, geese, and herons for company.

4) STUFF

Stuff | Photo: @stuffhollywood, Instagram

Located on the edge of Thai Town, Stuff (5659 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles 90028) is a curated shop of indoor plants and locally made/found goods. This small, quaint, and well-organized space manages to cram in an incredible array of cute plants of diverse sizes, as well as related accessories, gift items, herb bundles, and a small selection of clothing. Things will likely cost you more here than at a faceless big-box chain, but Stuff owner Belle Dankongkakul is both charming and expert, adding a personal touch to every purchase that has become increasingly hard to find. Plants from Stuff just seem "happier" somehow, and Belle can always steer your selection based on your intended environment and aesthetic desires.

5) THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION FOR WILD FLOWERS & NATIVE PLANTS

Native plants nursery at Theodore Payne
Foundation Photo: @theordorepayne, Instagram

Theodore Payne was ahead of his time - an L.A. nurseryman and conservationist who long ago saw the beauty (literally and metaphorically) of native plants in urban SoCal environments. Established in 1960, the Theodore Payne Foundation is a nonprofit devoted to the understanding, preservation, and horticultural use of California native plants. Its 22-acre headquarters (10459 Tuxford St, Sun Valley 91352) comprises a full-service native plant nursery, book and seed store, art gallery, demonstration gardens, and hiking trails open to the public year-round. If you’re still battling to keep a thirsty lawn green against all the odds (and nature), this is the place for inspiration and education about low-water alternatives.