Visit Us
Eugene, OR Since 1978

Three Generations of Gardeners

We started as a small roadside stand with a truck full of tomato starts. Today we grow and curate over 500 varieties — and we still know every plant by name.

The Whitfield Family

Rooted in Eugene for 46 Years

In 1978, Harold Whitfield parked a truck on Willamette Street with fifty flats of tomato starts and a handwritten sign. He sold out by noon. He came back the next Saturday with a hundred flats. And the Saturday after that with two hundred.

By 1983, Harold had leased a half-acre on the edge of town and built a single glass greenhouse. His wife, Evelyn, kept the books and started growing her own perennials to sell alongside Harold's vegetables. Customers came for the tomatoes and left with armfuls of lavender and salvia they hadn't planned to buy.

Their daughter, Patricia, grew up in the greenhouse. She went to Oregon State, studied horticulture, and came back with ideas her father politely tolerated and her mother quietly encouraged. When Harold retired in 2001, Patricia took over and doubled the growing space within three years.

Now Patricia's son Marcus manages the nursery floor, her niece Sarah runs the rose and perennial department, and Evelyn still comes in on Tuesdays to water the houseplants and give advice to anyone who'll listen.

1978 Founded
3 Generations
2 acres Growing space
500+ Varieties
How We Work

What We Actually Believe

Not marketing slogans. The things that actually drive the decisions we make every day about what we grow and what we sell.

Organic-First Practices

We don't use synthetic pesticides in our greenhouses. Period. We work with integrated pest management and biological controls. Our soil amendments are all compost and organic matter. If we wouldn't use it in our own gardens, we don't use it on your plants.

Sourced Close to Home

Over 70% of our stock is grown within 150 miles of Eugene. We work with twelve Oregon and Washington growers who we visit in person every year. When we can't grow it ourselves or source it locally, we're honest about where it comes from. No mystery sourcing.

Advice That Doesn't Oversell

We'd rather tell you a plant won't work in your yard than sell you something that dies in a month. Our staff gives the same advice to a first-time gardener with a $20 budget as to a landscape contractor with a $5,000 order. Good advice builds trust that lasts decades.

The People Behind the Plants

Meet Our Team

These are the folks you'll meet on the floor. Each one has deep, specific expertise and a genuine love for the work.

Sarah Whitfield

Roses & Perennials Specialist

Sarah grew up deadheading roses before she could ride a bike. She's spent 18 years developing Roots & Bloom's rose collection and can match the right variety to almost any Oregon garden condition. She also leads our spring rose pruning workshop every February.

James Kowalski

Vegetable Garden Expert

James ran a market garden in the Willamette Valley for twelve years before joining us. He knows every quirk of growing food in Western Oregon's climate and has an opinion on every tomato variety we carry. Ask him about dry-farmed tomatoes and clear your schedule.

Maria Tennyson

Native Plants & Landscape Design

Maria studied botany at U of O and spent five years doing habitat restoration work before joining Roots & Bloom. She leads our native plants section and consults on landscape designs that prioritize local ecology, water conservation, and low-maintenance planting.

Where the Plants Live

Our Growing Facility

Two acres of growing space, four glass greenhouses, and a covered outdoor nursery area open year-round.

Greenhouse 1 & 2

Year-round annuals, perennials, and tropical houseplants. Temperature-controlled for optimal growing conditions.

Greenhouse 3

Dedicated propagation and seedling space. This is where our vegetable starts begin life in January, and where we root cuttings from our best shrubs.

Outdoor Nursery

Trees, large shrubs, and hardy perennials. Covered in winter, open-air in summer. Our largest growing space and home to the rose garden.

Giving Back

Part of Eugene's Community

We've been neighbors here for 46 years. That comes with some responsibilities we take seriously.

School Garden Program

We donate plants, soil, and staff time to 14 Eugene-area school gardens every spring. James leads an annual hands-on planting day at two elementary schools. The kids plant, they watch things grow, and they eat the results in the fall.

Free Plant Clinic

Every first Saturday of the month, Sarah, James, or Maria sets up in the parking lot for a free plant clinic. Bring your struggling plant, your phone full of photos, or just your questions. No purchase required, no appointment needed.

Eugene Pollinator Project

We partner with the city's pollinator corridor project to donate native plants to community installations throughout Eugene. We also run native plant identification walks each May in partnership with the Lane County Master Gardeners.

Come Say Hello

The Best Way to Meet Us Is In the Shop

We're open most days and there's almost always a Whitfield around. Stop by, ask questions, and let us show you what's looking good this season.

Get Directions See Our Plants