Green Things is a family-owned and operated retail & wholesale plant nursery in Tucson that has been in operation since 1970. It is located in the Tucson Binghampton Historic District at the base of the Catalina Foothills and is home to 33 greenhouses and over 13.5 acres of growing grounds. It services both the professional landscaper and home gardener alike. They also offer a vast collection of pottery and folk art through their sister company, Zocalo Village, which has five separate locations seamlessly integrated on site with the nursery itself. Their other sister company, Green Lady Hydroponics, is also located on site in the West retail building and offers quality hydroponic supplies and equipment for the home grower. They carry nearly every type of native and hardiness zone appropriate plant, from annuals and perennials to cacti and succulents to in season herbs and vegetables and everything in between. They are also the largest grower of poinsettias in the state and provide much of the supply during the holiday season. They also offer a fundraising opportunity with local organizations to raise money at the holidays through the outside sale of poinsettias. They also offer delivery, installation, and plant removal services as well as plant rental service for media use and special events. Green Things is truly a destination spot in Southern Arizona gardening circles and often offers classes and workshops as well as a highly knowledgeable and friendly staff to assist with all one's gardening and landscaping questions.
As previously stated, the land that Green Things sits upon is also part of the Binghampton Historic District. As such, it is a shining example of good land preservation and its appropriate use. The Binghampton area was first established in 1916 as a rural and agrarian community that established irrigation for farming and provided farm goods for the growing town of Tucson, whose boundaries were still located six miles away. The community built schools and churches and a local cemetery, which is still in use today, as well as two large ponds that were filled with diverted water from the still flowing Tanque Verde creek. They also planted orchards and vegetable gardens and ran a successful large dairy. In later years, there was also an influx of ranchers who established horse ranches and riding schools as well as boarding stables and pecan groves in place of some of the older family farms. The position of Green Things today along the now dry Rillito river that periodically flows during monsoon weather and the way that the nursery itself is constructed is a wonderful and timely reminder of the flourishing pastures and farms that once defined the area. It sits today as an oasis in the desert and is a truly hidden gem of Tucson proper.
