While I am no stranger to pop-up shops I am new to temporary garden markets.
They say you can skip the middle man (by buying direct from the grower), avoid traffic (with garden markets conveniently situated in the center of most communities, within walking distance) and support local growers and community members.
Now this is a community initiative I can get behind. Twist my plant loving arm, let’s head to Coquitlam’s Urban Roots Garden Market (located in the parking lot next to Coquitlam Center, on the H&M side) and chalk our credit cards up while getting our hands dirty! I couldn’t be more excited to see what they had to offer this early in the season. Goodness knows my garden beds are screaming for color.
From beautiful garden bed fillers, to lush hanging baskets, indoor and patio plants, shrubs, and fruit and vegetable starters. What I wasn’t expecting, but excited to see – was a little store too. It had potted succulent arrangements, priced extremely reasonably and great for gift giving. They had garden seeds, bed and planter soil, flower pots, garden tools, and gloves. Honestly this was far more than I was expecting from a Pop-Up Garden Market.
Urban Roots Garden Market is only just getting started apparently. As we are early in the season not all stock is out at each location. Product is shifting and inventory get’s changed every 2 to 3 weeks. That’s the nice thing about this garden market such care and attention goes into when they put out their product. With a passion for quality, each grower can protect their product by putting out their plants at their peak. A good excuse to visit often.
FIND AN URBAN ROOTS GARDEN MARKET
With 11 locations in and around the city, you will definitely be able to find one close to home. From Vancouver, Kitsilano, Kerrisdale, and North Vancouver. Oakridge, Richmond, Port Moody, Coquitlam and Surrey. They have nicely blanketed the city where you’re sure to find a pop-up near you. While I visited the Coquitlam location, it was extremely well stocked with what seemed like only the best plants. I am excited to check out other locations around the city to see what they have been stocked with too.
WHY URBAN ROOTS GARDEN MARKET
High quality products at fair prices all while supporting communities within your city. From the passionate growers, to the incredibly knowledgeable staff – Urban Roots can and will be your one stop garden shop this Summer.
What I found nice is that no matter if you are new to gardening or a total green thumb, the staff is not only there to help but extremely knowledgeable. Have a simple gardening question or an advanced soil-plot predicament, the staff at Urban Roots can help.
HOURS OF OPERATION
Each of the pop-up locations may vary when it comes to opening and closing. However I am happy to report that all locations are now open. They will be open everyday for the season, with an expected closing sometime in August 2022. Each location maybe different, so be sure to call ahead or check their social media accounts (Facebook and Instagram) before you go or for further details, questions or concerns.
All locations have the same hours, very simple to remember and if you ask me plenty long enough to satisfy even the most obsesses plant mama. Open from 9:00am to 6:00pm EVERY SINGLE DAY. Doesn’t get much better than that.
PARKING, DIRECTIONS & CURBSIDE DELIVERY
While each location will have different notes here, I would love to share about the Coquitlam location which I had to delight to visit.
Urban Roots Garden Market in Coquitlam is located on the North East side of Coquitlam Centre Mall. The side that has the entrance to H&M. Urban Roots Coquitlam has ample parking on-site, but should you find yourself there on a busy day, their is parking all around. Within the mall itself and even on side street.
Both carry-out service and curbside pick-up are available at the Urban Roots Coquitlam location. Just ask one of the friendly staff to help you with your purchases to the car and they will be happy to lend a hand. They also have Curbside pick-up available should you need. They ask that you be careful while driving around in the parking lot as it can be busy with customer walking to and from their vehicles.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
I popped onto their website and saw a few things that I had wished I had seen before I went. So this is my opportunity to save you the “damn-it” moment that I had – and go prepared.
Sign-up for their newsletter and get monthly coupons, VIP event invites and fun gardening tips. This would be smart to do before you head in so that you can take advantage of the further discount and SPEND MORE ON PLANTS.
I also noticed that they have an events tab on their webpage. I love that they host events at these pop-ups too. They have an upcoming event at their East Hastings location (at the PNE) this Saturday, April 30th.
Carissa Kasper from Seed & Nourish is going to be teaching gardeners “how to plant a continuous salad bowl“. You can join her in one of the two session where Carissa will teach you how to:
- Select the perfect pot for your continuous salad bowl
- Which types of soil to use for good container/food gardening
- What fertilizers to use (and what not to use for food safety)
- How to keep pests away
- How to care for and keep your continuous salad bowl blooming all season long
The first session starts at 12:00pm and runs to 12:30pm with the second following right after, starting at 12:30pm to 1:00pm.
And finally; I noticed that the Urban Roots also had a blog. You know I love that! Their blog seems quite active packed with super helpful gardening tips, tricks and helpful resources. It wouldn’t hurt to take a little browse over on their blog before you go.
Three of their blog posts that I found super helpful were;
- Your Spring Gardening Checklist
- Planting a Bee-Friendly Garden
- 5 Tips for how to plant your garden space
I’m just so ecstatic to take my bi-weekly visits to the Urban Roots Garden Market pop-ups around the city. YES, I am fully planning to hit them all by the end of the season. Was that not a given? The thought of missing out on plants will haunt me in my sleep should I no. If you see me frolicking the aisle feel free to say hello, check what I have in my basket, chat plants. But, hear me out! If you see me with Sammy, just smile and nod, he cannot know that I practically live here now. All he needs to know is how beautiful our garden beds look and how scrumptious our garden tastes with local fruits and vegetables.
For those that read this blog post by the soft glow of your cellphones in bed, when you should really be fast asleep; this is for you. I took a little video through the entire Coquitlam Urban Roots which should tie over your excitement until they open back up tomorrow. I gotchu’ boo!
Hey! ✋🏼 WAIT! 🛑 we left the best for last…
Head on over to our Instagram feed now as we have a giveaway going on. We have teamed up with Urban Roots Garden Market to offer one of you a $100 gift card to any of their locations around the city. So stoked (and a little envious) that one of you is going to be able to go on a plant shopping spree. Just think of all the new plant babies you will be mothering. BEST SUMMER EVER!
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Zina says
Excited to add plants to the garden this year. Thanks for the tips on signing up for the newsletter and pop up events!