By Kady Weddle
More than 20 million Americans planted a garden for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Forbes.
These new ‘plantrepreneurs’ are climate-conscious and eager to experiment with color and small space design making this year’s garden trends emphasize environmental friendliness, mental health awareness, and reducing carbon footprints.
We caught up with the local garden centers to see what they have to offer this year.
Waldo Greenhouse has expanded with two larger greenhouses.Waldo Greenhouse – Waldo Greenhouse has expanded. The garden center located at 85th & Wornall has leased two large greenhouses near 67th and Holmes where they plan to grow organic vegetables, native trees, as well as fruit and nut trees. They expect to have the structures in use by the fall. The greenhouses will also bring added space for customers who want to store their large tropical plants during the winter. Waldo Greenhouse is happy to announce they are now certified Proven Winners, a training program for garden retailers. Currently, the garden center has pansies available for sale.
Soil Service Garden Center– Soil Service, located at 7130 Troost, is adding a little fun to their environment with a pop up market on March 26 from 11am – 3 pm at the nursery. The Spring Fling pop up will feature local artisans who specializing in jewelry, candles, tie-dye t-shirts, illustrations and macaroons. A tamale truck will be on hand for lunch. Soil Service has the largest selection of native plants in Kansas City and is the largest urban garden center. They are expecting a shipment of trees and shrubs in the next week or two.
Rosehill Gardens – Rosehill Gardens, Kansas City’s oldest nursery, opened its Garden Center. 311 E.135 St., on March 14. The Garden Center will soon be offering e-commerce with curbside pickup and local delivery and installation. Rosehill recently partnered with Border Magic, which lays down continuous concrete landscape borders. The Somerset Wine and Cider Bar located within the Garden Center courtyard will open in May on Friday and Saturday nights.
Suburban Gardens – Suburban Gardens, located off 135th and Wornall, has expanded its hours, now open from 8 am to 6 pm Monday – Friday and 10 am – 5 pm on Sundays. In addition to getting new early spring annuals daily, the garden center also has seasonal decor as well as numerous home goods items. This year, Suburban will carry its own brand of bird seed. And don’t miss Friends of Bonsai workshops where study groups of enthusiasts come together at Suburban to teach and learn. Watch Facebook for future classes.
Growing for Good
Sidelines Custom Floral is working to raise funds for bStrong – an organization providing emergency assistance to people in crises… currently Ukraine. Located at 511 E 135, they’ll be offering sunflower bundles and a signature bSrong arrangement with proceeds being donated to the cause.
Rosehill’s new outdoor event center will host this year’s .1k race on May 22 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society.
Suburban Lawn & Garden has partnered with Kansas City Southern and the Kansas City Downtown Rotary Club to help Save the Monarchs. To sustain Mariposa’s spring north migration, these monarchs need consistent sources of nectar. Creating ‘habitat patches’, Suburban hopes to help the Mariposa rest and refuel along the way. You can reserve your own Monarch Mariposa plant for your garden with proceeds being donated to the Rosario Sanctuary.