Mello's Farm & Flower Center — Local services in Portsmouth

Mello's Farm and Flower Center should be a part of your Rhode Island tourist trip, if solely because you'll want to explore all that the island, and this little state, have to offer.

There are a variety of ways that Mello's plays a role in strengthening Rhode Island as an agricultural center. The first is in its landscaping and farming products. You can get many different plants and planting products here. The Center looks to be in the middle of a bunch of planting fields, too.

There are also the various pieces of a patio that you can get at this place. Ranging from furniture to pots, Mello's sense of aesthetic is heavily represented in the physical products that are sold here.

But the thing that I went to Mello's for was the produce. Rhode Island has an ambitious food security goal in that it wants to source half of the state's food from within the state by (I believe) the year 2050. That's an ambitious goal, but we are all beginning to understand that fresher, local foods are better for our bodies and minds. So to Mello's I went, and was not disappointed in the variety of local Rhode Island produced foods, though it seemed that only half of the produce that was available was visibly marketed as "locally grown." This makes sense, because the Center seemed to be more of a market rather than a farm stand.

However, the yellow squash, zucchini, green beans, and sweet potatoes I bought were all locally grown and something I have a serious interest in. I checked out a few other items that were sold in the coolers and have decided that I need to come here again to improve my knowledge of all these wonderful Rhode Island foodie goodies.

The East Bay and Aquidneck Island are in the middle of a serious food movement. There are a lot of small, caring farmers and food producers in the area. If you are interested in making a day of it, I recommend checking out Hope and Main in Warren, then going over the Mount Hope Bridge to Portsmouth to Mello's. You won't be disappointed, but you will...

One day, I took a wrong turn and saw this plant/garden farm store on the way back home. They had various versions of Habiscus, and I was so excited that I had to get some for mom. Later, I saw a Hibuscus tree and planned to purchase next spring for mom. They also had a spider plant, which i have been meaing to get one.

Nice place, nice people. This store had tropical plants and perrenials as well. I have a friend from Guatemala that saw childhood plants and flowers, they do have a nice colorful flower selection (gave me many ideas).

Ample parking and really close to the highway. Not in a crowded area so...

I’ve always liked Mello’s. But today I went there with my husband. It was quite crowded (Friday before Memorial Day) and that was understandable. All customers wore masks and tried to distance. I was disappointed in the people working at Mello’s, though. The clerk at checkout had a mask on that did not cover her nose at all. A woman watering flowers in the middle of everyone had no mask on. You have to hand the clerk your credit card. They did have a distancing sign by the checkout. I think they should work on health safety for the good of customers. Nice...