Best Of Tucson®

Best Plant Nursery

Mesquite Valley Growers

Spreading out along Speedway Boulevard for almost a city block, Mesquite Valley Growers offers an enormous variety of merchandise that sets it apart. Domino, the black-and-white cat with a temperamental personality, may greet you at the entrance, while inside you'll find everything needed to meet your gardening needs. There is an immense assortment of hanging plants, pots of every description, huge greenhouses of citrus and untold varieties of bedding, native and water-garden plants. The nursery grows 90 percent of the large stock itself, and one pot even contains the natural fixings for a delicious spaghetti sauce--roma tomato, bell pepper and sweet basil, along with Italian oregano and parsley. A Tucson home's outdoor area has become year-round living space, and this nursery can supply what's needed to make it more colorful and enjoyable.

Runners up:

2. Harlow Gardens, 5620 E. Pima St., 298-3303, www.harlowgardens.com

3. Desert Survivors Plant Nursery, 1020 W. Starr Pass Road, 791-9309, www.desertsurvivors.org