Walter Andersen Nursery — Local services in San Diego

Love this place! My boyfriend and I are by no means avid gardeners but we try! It is definitely an interesting location and parking is a bit funky but there is actually a decent amount of parking once you are there. I actually really appreciate that this beautiful nursery provides shelter, food, and a bit of green space for the local wildlife in the middle of what is otherwise a very busy(and not very green) urban area! I enjoyed watching all the birds and bugs enjoy the beautiful plants just as much as I did :)

We have come here a few times and it's always such a pleasant experience! Employees are attentive, friendly and helpful but not constantly following you around(not that it's a bad thing to check in with customers, but sometimes we just like looking around at our leisure!). Prices are pretty fair and they typically have a nice selection of more rare/uncommon plants which is fun. I am OBSESSED with their native plant selection!!! They have wonderful signs too that breakdown the needs of the plants easily for us garden novices, and they also indicate what types of wildlife use the native plants, which I love as I am trying to make my yard as wildlife-friendly as possible. We live in Spring Valley so it is a little out of the way for us, but we try to find any excuse to end up in that area so we can stop in :)...

Walter Andersen Nursery has a great selection of herbs, trees, succulents, indoor and outdoor plants, air plants, and a lot of different types of fertilisers, soils, gardening tools, seeds, etc. The prices are also very reasonable compared to some of the big box garden centres. The main issue I found was sadly with the staff. The cashiers were great, but the rest of the numerous staff working were not helpful or approachable. The location was not insanely busy, and i walked around the entire compound, passed over a dozen employees and not a single one even greeted me (except for the cashiers) or asked if i needed help. That might sound entitled of me, but i think being greeted is still considered basic customer service. I was actively looking for something and no one would even look in my direction. I finally had to ask the very nice cashier, who radioed for someone to come assist. Before i could even finish asking my question, i was cut off and told, "Those arent sold that way, we dont carry those". I just turned back to the cashier and finished my transaction and left. I really do want to go back because, as stated, the selection of items is great, but the staff could definitely use a change of attitude...

I have been gardening in San Diego almost two years now and never heard of this place until today when Yelp included it in a list. I drive past this nursery twice a day and it’s only two minutes off my route. You have no idea how much money I would have spent here had I known this place existed; thousands of dollars easily. From a small business standpoint it fails at location and advertisement but excels at quality, value, and variety. I can’t wait to go back.

Pros: military discount unmatched variety noticeably healthier plants very competitive (often cheaper) pricing on plants friendly staff

Cons: tucked away behind the Adult Superstore (it’s where you turn from Barnett seemingly limited staff (I roamed the wrong area for twenty minutes before a staff member pointed me to the correct area)

If you are traditionally a big box garden store shopper then do yourself a huge favor and check out Walter Anderson Nursery to see how a real garden store looks.

I wish they opened before 8am because I want to go...