First Place: Strange’s Florist
12111 W. Broad St.
360-2800
stranges.com
Second Place: Great Big Greenhouse
Third Place: Sneed’s Nursery & Garden Center
The well-known Strange’s also took the title of Best Florist, so what about a little love for the runner-up? Great Big Greenhouse has a great big location covering three acres at Robious and Huguenot roads on the South Side, including an area for exotic tropical plants. From there, the Chantilly-based company offers the usual plants that landscaping-crazed Richmonders love, such as azaleas and boxwoods, to more unusual choices in the premium annual range, as well as tropicals. Competition is tight in the area, which includes third-place winner Sneed’s Nursery, along with a polyglot of other independent nursery centers and big-boxes Lowe’s and Home Depot. The last ones “offer a good volume business,” says Bill Livelsberger, manager of the Great Big Greenhouse, “but they’re not comparable to us.” The Great Big Greenhouse is owned by Meadows Farm Nurseries which has stores throughout the mid-Atlantic and tailors its Richmond sales to a somewhat warmer growing season.