Branches Garden Center

3909 S. 320th St., Auburn
www.branchesgc.com

Although the address is technically in Auburn, this sweet little garden center is definitely part of Federal Way - it's on 320th right before it turns into Peasley Canyon Road and before you reach the, "Welcome to Auburn" sign; it is very involved in the FW community, participating in Federal Way Community Gardens, the FW sand sculpting championships, organic gardening workshops and more; and, it was just voted as the best nursery in the Federal Way Mirror's "Best Of" competition. With that out of the way, let me tell you how much I love this store, no matter what its provenance.

The store is a series of buildings which are essentially giant garden sheds leading to an outdoor area full of plants, pottery, and statuary. You enter through the amazing gift shop, which looks as though it was taken directly from your hippest friend's Pinterest boards. In addition to the garden-related items such as tools, potting soil, bird feeders, cute watering cans, etc., there are so many lovely gifts, from pretty candles to beautiful scarves and aprons, funky dish towels, gourmet foods, wine accessories, jewelry and more. Even if you have no yard and a black thumb, you could still spend hours here.

If you are a gardening buff, looking for a great selection of plants, you could also spend hours here. They have a beautiful assortment and lots of really helpful information about planting and care. You can also find great garden items such as pots, trellises, birdbaths and fountains. The staff are very friendly and happy to answer questions.

I think the greatest thing I can say about Branches is that it has inspired me to garden, even though I am notoriously bad at caring for plants and never had much interest in it before. Just walking through their door makes me believe that I can be that girl with the awesome Pinterest gardening board.