LOCAL! Almost everything we have purchased from Home Depot has died. All the bulbs we planted from HD only lasted one season. I buy a lot from our local nursery. But I have used mail order for plants and I have had great success.

I highly recommend Wellsweep herb farm in NJ. Their plants may be a little expensive, but they have never failed me and they have a great selection of rare and not so common herbs, like hardy thymes and gorgeous white lavenders.

http://www.wellsweep.com/

The nice thing about shopping local is you can talk to someone who is an experienced gardner and they give great advice on dealing with difficult situations (shade, intense afternoon sun, hard soil, etc.)

Yeah, I agree that local is best. Plus, since it's grown locally it is the right kind of plant to grow in your climate.

This is my first year planting a garden and I plan on utilizing my local producer's knowledge and instincts. Especially when it comes to what grows best in our climate.

love it.

Yep, local is best. I've tried mail order and have learned to expect teeny little bareroot tufts of a plant -- some of which make it, and some which don't. Nice to have the mail order option for rare hybrids, but I've found that the better nurseries can sometimes order something special and will usually guarantee their plants for one year.

I go with local. There are a number of wonderful nuseries in the Santa Rosa Valley, along Santa Rosa Road out in Camarillo (north of the 101, south of the 118). Surprisingly, they are actually less expensive than Home Depot. And about a dollar more than WalMart, per large flat or plant. The quality is so much better and there are actually people there who like plants/flowers and can answer a question or two.

LOCAL! same experience with HD or OSH's plant they die too quick. or maybe it's me?
i went to the rolling green nursery in culver city a couple of months ago and it's IMPRESSIVE. to bad you have to have a resale licence to buy there, but im sure you can find a friend to bring with, including the licence.
and the prices are really good too.

I shop the Mom & Pop for my plants because they are hardier than the plants I've bought through a catalog or HD. I only shop HD/Lowes for mulch because it's cheaper than the mom & pop.
<a herf="http://condo-blues.blogspot.com">Condo Blues </a>

The best plants are the ones I grab for free! I'm amazed how many people throw out plants that only need a little water and some new soil. I've taken plants out of green recycling bins, off street corners, and even pulled over at construction sites where plantings are being ripped out. I always carry a few trash bags in the trunk in case I see something that needs a home.

The free section on craigslist is also an awesome source.

I shop all three. It would be hard for me to generalize. I've found some unfriendly dolts at local shops, helpful, knowledgeable staff at the big box stores, and some really good deals via mail-order, especially on seeds and bulbs.

If you are serious about gardening, nurseries are THE best option. You'll find professionals who know their business. You'll find quality, variety, advices. You don't buy plants for their price, you buy them for their quality, their health.

Just about everything from a big box store comes from a California grower. Armstrong and Anawalt are locally owned, with a large selection from Monrovia growers, but they get impatiens in flats from the same sources as HD does.

Local nurseries. Many grow their own plants, and they have varieties that the big box stores never get. I have ordered from mail order sources in order to get a rare plant that I can't find locally, but the plants are usually bare-root and quite small. I like to pick the healthiest, most vigorous plant from the nursery.

That being said, if you just want some marigolds or other annual and have a tight budget, you can probably get away with HD or Lowe's. I just don't tend to use a lot of those kinds of plants in my garden. Be careful when buying shrubs or more expensive plants from the chains, though. They are often horribly rootbound and not well tended.

I've seen pallets of plants sitting inside my local HD for days before they are moved outside. Going from 70 degrees to 38 can't be real good for a plant. Same goes for houseplants. I saw a bunch of tropicals sitting outside in the garden center in freezing February before being moved inside. Eek.