These Are the Best Cities for Plant Lovers, According to a Survey

We choose where we live for a lot of reasons. It could be to live close to family or a job, or it could be that we’re drawn to a city because it works well for living a minimalist lifestyle. Others choose a city that works best for their hobbies, like San Diego for surfing or near the Rocky Mountains for snow sports. If your life revolves around plants and gardening, however, you might be interested to learn the locations where Planter’s Digest ranks as the top U.S. cities for plant lovers.

What Makes a City Ideal for Plant Lovers?

Plants have become some of our most important housemates and yard dwellers. Even if you think you have a brown thumb, plants play an important role in our lives.

A lot more goes into an ideal city for plant lovers than just sunshine and fertile soil. An ideal city for plant lovers ticks a handful of boxes that include elements like local plant and gardening events, groups and community gardens.

How Were These Cities Ranked?

To formulate the list of the best U.S. cities for plant lovers, Planter’s Digest analyzed nine elements of each city. Surprisingly none were related to weather, but are more in tune with indicators that show a city has a large biodiversity of plants and educational resources.

The number of plant species in each city was certainly a main consideration, but Planter’s Digest also looked into the number of gardens and conservatories in each area. The number of parks, community gardens, garden clubs, garden-related events and plant-related organizations were also all factored into the totals.

The Best Cities for Plant Lovers

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Here are the top 10 best U.S. cities for plant lovers ranked by Planter’s Digest.

1. New York, New York

2. Houston, Texas

3. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

4. Sacramento, California

5. Austin, Texas

6. Atlanta, Georgia

7. St. Louis, Missouri

8. Washington, D.C.

9. Chicago, Illinois

10. Dallas, Texas