Urban Abundance moves into SmartyPlants

Some news is worth interrupting the regular programming for. Urban Abundance — South Florida’s edible-garden specialists — have moved into SmartyPlants. Their team, their plants, and their whole grow-your-own-food operation are now based right here at 1515 N. Dixie Hwy in Lake Worth Beach.

We could not be more excited about what this means for the nursery, and more importantly, what it means for you. Two big things, in fact — a dramatically expanded plant palette for anyone who grows food at home, and a full-service team that can build (and even care for) an edible garden in your own backyard. Let’s dig in.

First — who is Urban Abundance?

If you have spent any time in the South Florida food-gardening world, you have probably crossed paths with Urban Abundance. They are an edible-garden company in the fullest sense: they design custom raised-bed gardens, build and plant them, and then — this is the part people love — their certified GreenThumbs come back and care for them year-round, so the garden keeps producing whether or not you have the time (or the confidence) to manage it yourself.

The company was founded by Jack Sandquist — Farmer Jack to just about everyone — who spent years working on farms from Hawaii to New Zealand before bringing that experience home to Florida. Under his lead, the Urban Abundance crew has built more than 500 garden beds and over 20 community gardens across the region, along with edible gardens for restaurants, personal chefs, assisted-living communities, and treatment centers. Their stated mission is to build “the largest decentralized farming operation in the US — one garden at a time.”

In other words: these are the people you want around if you have ever dreamed of walking outside and picking your own dinner. And now they are around — permanently, right here in the nursery.

What it means for you, part one: our plant palette just got delicious

The most immediate change you will notice on your next visit is on the tables. With Urban Abundance in the house, SmartyPlants now carries dozens of herbs, vegetables, edible flowers, and fruit trees — a genuine edible-plant department, not a lonely rack of basil by the register.

Expect culinary and medicinal herbs, seasonal vegetable starts ready to go straight into a bed or container, edible flowers that pull double duty for pollinators and plates, and fruit trees suited to South Florida yards. Everything is non-GMO and organically raised — grown the way you would want it grown, since the whole point is that you are going to eat it.

Just as important: the stock and variety will change with the seasons. Edible gardening in South Florida runs on its own calendar, and the tables will follow it — what you find in October will not be what you find in April, and that is exactly how it should be. If you grow food at home, make us a regular stop; there will always be something new, and always something that belongs in the ground right now.

A quick word on “seasonal” in South Florida

If you are new to food gardening here, the seasonal rotation is a feature, not a quirk. Our growing calendar is flipped from most of the country: the cooler months from roughly October through April are our prime season for tomatoes, lettuces, brassicas, and most classic vegetables, while the summer belongs to heat-lovers like okra, sweet potatoes, tropical spinaches, and the fruit trees that thrive in the humidity.

That is why the edible tables will keep moving all year. Whatever is on them is what works right now — which takes most of the guesswork out of “what should I plant this month?” Come in, see what is stocked, and you are already planting with the season instead of against it.

Part two: want a food garden without the trial and error?

Here is the second big thing. Plenty of people want to grow food but do not want to spend two years learning the hard way — the soil, the irrigation, the timing, the pests. That is exactly the problem Urban Abundance exists to solve.

Their team will design and build a complete edible garden at your home: handsome, durable raised beds, quality soil, irrigation, and a planting plan matched to the season and to what your household actually eats. The garden is ready to grow from day one — no guesswork, no wasted seasons.

And if you would rather harvest than weed, their GreenThumbs offer concierge garden care: regular visits to plant, tend, troubleshoot, and keep the beds producing year-round. You relax, they grow — and you still get the unbeatable feeling of cooking with something picked twenty feet from your kitchen.

Getting started is easy: learn more and set up a free assessment at urbanabundance.com. They will look at your space, your sun, and your goals, and tell you exactly what is possible.

Same SmartyPlants, more reasons to visit

Everything you already love about the nursery stays put — the natives and Florida-friendly ornamentals, the palms, the pots, the coffee, the wandering. What changes is that SmartyPlants is now also the place in Palm Beach County to start, stock, and grow a food garden.

Come by, walk the new edible section, and say hello if you spot the Urban Abundance crew around the nursery. One trip really does do it all now — plants for the yard, food for the table, and the people who can help you grow both.

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