Nursery Review - Sunshine Gardens

 To combat the effect of the internet, some bookstores over the last 10 years have converted some of their space to cafés and reading lounges.  This has been successful in bringing new potential customers into the bookstore by making the store more of a destination.  Sunshine Gardens in Encinitas has taken this approach one step further.  At Sunshine Gardens, you can find a café, a florist shop, a toddler play area and coming soon, a woodcarver studio. 

This sprawling site is located just down the street from the San Diego Botanic Garden (formerly the Quail Botanical Garden).  One of my favorite items at Sunshine is the tremendous selection of herbs and vegetables.  I took a client there and using just what was available at Sunshine, put together a nice container garden of tomatoes, herbs and other vegetables.

This nursery has been family owned and operated for the last 40 years and the staff displays that family style of caring customer service.  In addition to all the fun food items, Sunshine has a nice selection of succulents and drought tolerant plants.  It is definitely a great place to visit after the seeing the San Diego Botanic Gardens.

Sunshine Gardens

155 Quail Gardens

Encinitas, CA 92024

(760) 436-3244

http://www.sunshinegardensinc.com

Photos by Doug Kalal, taken at Sunshine Gardens