Cistus Nursery

Sauvie Island nursery.

Hughes Water Gardens

Updated 1/1/23

Searching "Portland Oregon Nurseries" returns over 150,000 results! There are not that many actual nurseries, but there sure are a lot. The Pacific NW grows a large percentage of the nation's nursery stock, so wholesale growers abound. Our rainy springs and sunny summers support plants and gardeners- so retail options are plentiful as well.

I have been to maybe 30-40 nurseries in the Portland area. A few of these really jump out as "must see" nurseries. Here they are, in no particular order.

5 Great Portland Area Nurseries:

Cistus Nursery. This gem on Sauvie Island is a truly incredible little nursery. They specialize in native plant material- stuff you won't get anywhere else (unless you are stealing plants from State Parks.) The nursery itself is a beautiful shabby-chic jewel box. But the plants are really where it's at. Check out the Manzanita selection and get some drought tolerant plants for your garden. Cistus was visited by Martha Stewart and the owner, designer Sean Hogan, is helping spearhead the effort to create the Portland Botanical Garden.
Hughes Water Gardens. The only nursery you will ever need for planting in and around your water feature. They carry koi, water feature supplies, and are happy to answer any of your questions. It's also just a great place to spend an afternoon!
Pomarius Nursery. “If you love plants and design, you will love Pomarius”. I agree wholeheartedly.
Garden World. If the name sounds familiar it's because you have driven past it on I-5 a hundred times. This nursery is also not exactly in Portland. But they also have a huge selection and reasonable prices. Two things really set them apart. First, they have an awesome website that has all their stock on it. It updates in real time. So, you can shop online, pay, and then just go and pick it up. Pretty great. Second, they have a nice selection of large and large-ish trees.
Farmington Gardens. Farmington Gardens is a large retail nursery that grows a lot of its own stock. This, combined with it's location, keep their prices lower than the urban nurseries. The staff is helpful, plants are well organized, and they have a large selection. They don't specialize in anything, but do a nice job of selling plants (that's what nurseries do, right?) If you need to get 15-25 plants for a weekend project I suggest you consider Farmington Gardens.

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BONUS 1: Tony's Garden. Tony's is not a destination nursery, but gets my vote for good reason. This 3 location retail nursery is family owned and run, has a nice selection, and very reasonable prices. If your weekend ambition is to splash color into a bunch of your beds, then Tony's Garden is the place to go.

BONUS 2: Xera Plants. Xera specializes in plants that are drought tolerant and hardy, many of them native. Basically they carry the plants we should all be smart enough to be landscaping with.

What is your favorite nursery? What makes it so great? Comments are open below! As is a more comprehensive list of nurseries.