While it might seem like the indoor jungle craze has passed — or we all realised just how damn hard it is to keep houseplants alive — for the dedicated house-plant lover, the thrill of finding a new favourite spot to acquire more green friends never fades.
Houseplants, or the indoor or outdoor variety, can be expensive and a risky investment if you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s why we’ve put together this list covering all of your bases from the best independent nurseries and plant stores in Sydney.
Below you’ll find the real deal, run by plant-obsessives with the care and knowledge to help feed your passion for the plants and provide you with all the tips you need to keep on growing. Let’s get into it.
Growing Grounds
Rockdale
Kicking off with one of the best in the business, Growing Grounds specialise in unique and hard-to-find plants plus all the equipment you need to keep them happy. Run by the amazing AJ, the Growing Grounds nursery is by appointment only and has some of the best rare finds out there. Growing Grounds can also ship your plants anywhere in Australia.
Newtown Garden Market
Newtown
If you’re in the Inner West and looking for plants, you can’t go past Newtown Garden Market. This little oasis down the south end of King Street is small but mighty in what it stocks. They cover both indoor and outdoor varieties, including natives and hard-to-kill indoor jungle specials. Plus, they have all the additional equipment that goes with your plant babies like pots, gardening tools, seeds, soil, and more. Definitely worth a visit.
Green Beanz
Erskineville
Run by husband and wife team Mick and Misty, Green Beanz was a perfect little spot on Erskineville Road to stop in and indulge your plant obsession. The shop sadly closed down during the pandemic but the team here have returned to their roots shipping online orders of the most Instagram-worthy species around. Plus, a portion of their sales goes to the Starlight Foundation charity and if you spend over $50 you can get free local delivery in the Sydney area.
Annandale Garden Centre
Annadale
An icon of the Inner West plant and garden scene, Annadale Garden Centre is an independent, family-owned business that has been serving the local area for the past three decades. They’re pretty much a one-stop shop here, with all your indoor and outdoor needs, including aquatic plants, grasses, and edibles. While their indoor selection isn’t the most exotic, you’ll find a good selection of basics to get you started on your indoor jungle dreams.
Sai Nursery
Pendle Hill
Something of a hidden gem, Sai Nursery is one of the top-rated plant shops in Sydney. They cater to people looking to get into gardening, particularly those who want to grow their own edible gardens. Holy Basil, Ashwagandha, and Aloe Vera are amongst their medicinal plants collection plus they have a huge range of fruiting plants and herbs.
That Plant Shop
Rozelle
Situated in beautiful Rozelle, That Plant Shop has to be at the top of anyone’s list of best indoor plant stores in Sydney. The shop itself is nestled into a heritage-listed sandstone building and they offer hundreds of indoor varieties of plants along with pots, hangers, and homewares. Stop in for one of their Jazz in the Jungle sessions or plant care workshops. They’re so good, even Gardening Australia recently tapped them up for some indoor plant care tips.
Rare Plants and Succulents Nursery
Rossmore
If you’re a little bit of a black thumb, but still want a low-maintenance outdoor paradise to call your own, Rare Plants and Succulents Nursery could be just the spot for you. As the name might suggest, they specialise in succulents, cacti, and other hardy arid-conditions plants. If your sunny balcony needs some love, hit up Margaret for an appointment-only peek into her awesome private collection.
Root’d
Glebe
Another victim of the pandemic, Root’d are one of the OGs of the rare indoor plant game, having started professionally in 2016. In 2019 they opened a brick-and-mortar shop in Glebe which succumbed to the lockdowns. That hasn’t stopped founder Lisa, who moved back online and continued to deal rare, ultra-trendy indoor plants to the Sydney #Planstagram scene. If there’s something you’re particularly on the hunt for and can’t find, Lisa will be able to help you out.
Tim’s Garden Centre
Campbelltown
Locals of Campbelltown know this place as the spot with the opinionated ceramic pig out the front. Tim Pickles has been working in garden centres since he was a teenager and his own, independent store in Sydney’s southwest stocks everything you’d expect from a well-run horticultural centre. From indoor plants to their own magic blends of potting mix, Tim’s has the lot. It’s very easy to spend an afternoon wandering the aisles here.
Randwick City Council Community Nursery
Randwick
Famous for its cheap deals on native plants, Randwick City Council Nursery has been serving the community for the past five decades. The council-run spot is the city’s leading provider of Indigenous species, but they also offer exotic varieties from all over the world that are suited to the hot, sandy climate of the eastern beaches. If you don’t have a garden of your own, they also offer volunteers the chance to plant in public council garden beds.
Growing Friends
Royal Botanic Gardens
If you’ve ever taken a wander around the Royal Botanic Gardens in the city centre and thought, man, I wish I could bring some of this stuff home with me (ethically), well Growing Friends is the place for you. Growing Friends is a volunteer-run group that propagates collections from not only the Royal Botanic Gardens but also the Australian Botanic Garden in Mount Annan and the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden in Mount Tomah. You’re sure to find tonnes of rare and exotic species here, plus the knowledge needed to help your new plants thrive.
Hamilton’s World of Cacti
Llandilo
Kim Hamilton is one of the country’s foremost experts in cacti. Having inherited the family business, which she has been running for nearly four decades, she became Secretary and Fellow of the Cactus and Succulents Society of NSW and sits on the committee for the Royal Horticultural Society of NSW. Hamilton’s stocks up to half a million individual plants and is well worth a trip for all of your outdoor, rock-garden needs or just to have a look around this incredible collection.
Altra Nursery
Mortdale
A family-run independent since 1986, Altra Nursery does what a lot of places don’t: cater to the indoor plant nut while also maintaining a well-stocked all-purpose garden centre. This place is open seven days a week and has its finger on the pulse for all the rare and exotic species that are blowing up your feed. Arguably one of the cheapest in the city, it’s absolutely worth ducking into to see what they’re currently slinging.
Plant Daddy
Newtown
The guys at Plant Daddy know what you want and they’ve been serving it to you since 2020. Situated in a little studio space on the corner of Lennox and Australia Street, Trent and Charlie are indoor jungle specialists who cut their teeth in the markets of Glebe, Manly, Moore Park, and Summer Hill. They have all the gear you need to get your indoor jungle to thrive and are happy to offer styling and plant care advice as well as re-potting. Plus they often run sales so their Instagram page is worth keeping an eye on.
Related: How to Grow a Thriving House Plant Collection From Your Neighbour’s Gifted Cuttings
Related: These Uncommon Pests May Be the Reason Your Plants Keep Dying
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