The best plant stores NYC has to offer

This online plant purveyor has filled a brick-and-mortar with various seedlings in stylish, locally made pots. The store focuses on greenery that’s easy to care for, so no green thumbs required here. Stand-alone plants start at $10; pre-potted ones go for $38 and up. Experts say keeping 
a houseplant in your home can improve your health and help purify the air. Sing us up! 

Photograph: Courtesy The Still/Yelp

Between this spacious Red Hook emporium and its Williamsburg locale, this plant purveyor has one of the largest selections of greenery in the city. While you’ll find gardening tools such as glossy clay pots and small hand tools, the bulk of Chelsea Garden Center’s stock is comprised of lush vegetation. Apartment-friendly picks include low-maintenance cacti and air plants, although gorgeous orchids that bloom annually are worth the extra effort. Proud New Yorkers may claim that no city tops Gotham, but few would knock the beauty of L.A.’s palm trees. To get the best of both coasts, make room in your pad for kentia palms sourced from Hawaii or opt for a tropical, six-foot Dracaena reflexa.

Since 2004, owner Susanne Kongoy has filled her sun-soaked store with the tools, plants and accessories essential to maintaining a healthy urban garden. While you’ll find practical items such as gardening hand tools, Moroccan totes with leather handles and herb seed collections, the selection is rounded out with a bevy of home accents, including candles and soaps. Swing by before your next dinner party to pick up a housewarming gift—a bouquet of fresh flowers are sure to wow your host.

Japanese plant artist and creative director Satoshi Kawamoto is known for turning indoor spaces into secret gardens, working on installations for the likes of Filson, Madewell and über-trendy restaurant Le Turtle. At his Lower East Side shop, an array of succulents and ferns blankets the surfaces of wooden boxes, bookshelves and wagons. Those still mastering their green thumb can opt for mason jar terrariums or bigger versions in glass domes with artificial or preserved plants that require no care. While prices can often reflect the feeling that you’re walking though a leafy art exhibit, the trip alone is worthwhile to gather inspiration for your next DIY project.

Ceramic planters and leafage line the walls of this sprawling, well-lit shop, where locals convene for free classes on creating floral arrangements, terrariums and more. Even if you’re not DIY savvy, you can still leave with something equally charming, such as terra-cotta geo planters, Seletti porcelain milk-carton vases and hanging glass globe terrariums. 

Photograph: Sprout Home/Yelp

One of the few Flower District wholesalers that’s open to the public, this two-story shop is overflowing with affordable home accents, candles, ceramics and both preserved and artificial plants. Bamboo fences allow privacy seekers to screen patios and balconies in style, while boxwood potted topiaries bring the outdoors in. If you want your dining room table to resemble the ones seen in catalogs, head here for hand-carved teak bowls, banana-leaf place mats and bags of polished mini river stones that can fill simple glass cube vases. You’ll also find nitty-gritty necessities, such as multicolored raffia pots.

Walk down the lush passageway of the Flower District to find one of the best selections of cacti and succulents in the city. Those looking to deck out their windowsills with rock gardens should stock up on burro’s tail, Echeveria variations and mini aloe plants (though you’ll have to get your rocks and planters elsewhere). If you’re worried that your new plants will suffer the same fate as your childhood goldfish, know that you’ll get detailed instructions on how to care for your new flora from the helpful couple that runs the place.

This Williamsburg shop is a green oasis touting many species of plants, cacti succulents displayed in antique jars and ’70s-inspired vases. While Rosehip’s blooms and floral arrangements are the shop's bread and butter, the front of the shop is entirely dedicated to plant babies. On many occasions, we've snagged perfectly potted palms, snake plants and aloe priced between $25 and $70. 

Photograph: Flickr/CreativeCommons/StephenBoisvert

Head to this floral oasis near Barclays Center for all of your home-gardening needs. Find bags of potting soil, ceramic pots, window planters and a healthy assortment of indoor and outdoor plants. While the small storefront can feel crowded with an abundance of leafy ferns and succulent varieties, step out into the spacious backyard during the warmer months for a selection of larger shrubs, trees and plants. New plant owners will feel at ease with a knowledgeable staff guiding the way.

Classical music greets visitors at this whimsical boutique, where the owner peddles dazzling dried-flower arrangements, including decorative spheres made from berries and heather in short green vases, alongside antiques for both the home and garden. Etched hurricane vases and rustic tole lanterns will lend a hint of the outdoors to any abode, while antique garden tools double as creative decor. If your small apartment calls for equally diminutive home accents, opt for miniature ceramic vases in assorted shapes.