Cordova Gardens

Very large selection of succulents. Good selection of pottery. If you know exactly what you want, this will most likely be a good choice. But if you have any questions or need to know a price, good luck. Customer service was b-​a-​d. A lot of the pottery and some plants had no prices, and the only clerk there acted like he was really annoyed that we had to bother him. (Hint to clerk: If the prices were marked, we wouldn’t have bothered you. It wasn’t pleasant for us either.)

121 months after buying our fountain and pump from Cordova Gardens, the pump finally died yesterday. Their great crew came out today to install a new pump and get the fountain flowing again and it works perfectly now. We still cannot recommend them any higher … excellent service and follow-​thru from Cordova!!!

They have always been my go to nursery for fountains and repair. They have a wonderful selection of novel and traditional plants for indoor and outdoor. Their staff is extremely knowledgeable and friendly.

Zero service and they couldn’t seem to care any less. Prices good, but I’d rather pay more to people who care.

Cordova Gardens, a Lovely Place
What a lovely place for exotic plants, fountains, pottery and outdoor furniture is the Cordova Gardens. They have a great selection of wonderful tropical plants, succulents and cactus. They have a good variety of pottery, a great selection of fountains and a fine line of outdoor furniture. If you want to decorate or remodel your patio, garden or courtyard, this is the place to shop.
The Cordova Gardens is basically run by Joe Sr., his wife Martha and his son Joe Jr. It is a family business which puts the love in to the gardens. You simply cannot drop by there and buy nothing!
I have built a new front courtyard and I wanted a set of new outdoor furniture and a fountain for this courtyard. After an online search, it all came down to Cordova Gardens.
The boss (my better half), decided to purchase an all concrete table and bench set with tiles top (park style but fancy). She also wanted a large fountain. So we went there and saw Joe Sr. babysitting his grandson. Joe had his foot in the cast but running (wobbling) after his grandson who was dodging him in between plants around the garden. Joe was babysitting, chatting with customers and making sales at the same time!
The Gardens are lovely, it is a large area consisting of a garden, a greenhouse and a pottery area full of plants, fountains, pottery and outdoor furniture. The boss looked around, examined the complete selection and came up with a wonderful set consisting of a round table and 3 round benches. They were made of concrete with handmade tile top design. She also decided on a large wall fountain.
We ordered the table and bench set along with the fountain from Joe Sr. We saw the garden samples and the catalogues and then the boss chose the right design and colors for the fountain and the bench set. Next she ordered the costume-​made fountain and the bench set to be made and delivered from the factories.
We also added a pump and a light for the fountain. Joe Sr. took the orders, gave discount on the order and delivery. In this trip, we spent about $ 1,700.00 on costume-​made fountain and furniture to be made and delivered in about 5 to 6 weeks, which it did actually take between 5 to 6 weeks to be delivered.
They delivered and installed the furniture and the fountain at the desired places in my front courtyard. The workers were professional. They leveled the table and the fountain (because the courtyard floor is a bit steep), they done minor adjustments and installed them carefully. The table had a tinny discoloration on the side which the labors used lacquer and made it look like brand new. Afterward, I could not even notice where the discoloration was! They were well prepared and had everything in their truck. The boss was very happy with the material.
Overall, this was a good purchase and experience. They have so many wonderful stuff at the Cordova Gardens and with large selections to choose from, you cannot help but to buy something! If you are looking for something unique and unusual for your outdoor décor, this is the place to shop.
I strongly recommend this place for the gardeners, people with high taste and folks searching for the unusual decors. This is the hidden garden you been searching for!

I’ve been meaning to write this review for a long time! I have been going to Codova Gardens for 10+ years. I love to just walk around and enjoy the serenity of this beautiful place. I am far from a green thumb so every time I visit I have lots of questions. What time to plant, where to plant, drought tollerant (or me proof) plants, design? Jose is always there to help me and we have built a great rapport over the years. The service has always been A+, which is why I continue to visit after all of these years. I love the feeling of this family owned business rather than the big box stores! The prices are always more than reasonable and the selection… gorgeous. They also have lots of statues and fountains to make your garden a tranquil place to spend your time. I think my favorite thing they do are all of the succulent arrangements.
Thank you Cordova Gardens for always meeting or beating my expectations at each and every visit!!!

Cordova Gardens is a jewel nestled in Encinitas. We Always enjoy our visit’s here to experience their vast plant selection. We leave with lovely plants, great horticulture tips and smiles. Our first visit to Cordova Gardens was for tropical palms. We were recommended Kentia palms which are flourishing and look so majestic in our yard! With our current water conditions and water wise landscapes we have picked out many different varieties of beautiful succulents recently. Thank you Joe and Jose for all your useful gardening tips!

A beautiful garden sanctuary! I love walking around Cordova gardens and always seem to find beautiful and rare plants. The last time I went I bought a beautiful Hawaiian Pikake Flower. I enjoyed talking to an employee about their fruit trees and the owner was so accommodating and even gave me fresh fruit to take home to my family. I would definitely recommend Cordova gardens, I keep going back!

My boyfriend and I come here frequently to get plants for our yard. They have the most amazing selection of succulents and their prices are great. I do not agree with others regarding customer service. I always find Jose and his father Joe to be extremely attentive and helpful. They are a family owned business and can answer any question you may have. It is by far the most beautiful Garden Center I have been to. I love this place!!!

This place is amazingly beautiful! Succulents as far as the eye can see! All prices for those who want to spend a lot or a little. Just being at/​in Cordova Gardens is heaven! I bought several succulent varieties and they are all thriving! :)

amazing selection, very knowligeable owner but not very friendly (by nature), very good prices. the indoor selection is very nice

Beautiful garden with a lot to see, except someone to help you… the person today that helped me was on a personal phone call talking about a million dollar home he was selling. I had so many questions and plants I wanted to buy I felt like I was bothering him… So, I just took one plant paid and left to go to another nursery. That’s just to bad

They fixed my fountain wonderfully. It works better than ever. And the price was great. Thank you very much!

Two stars for their nice selection of fountains, bowls and plants… but the service is just horrific. Every single interaction I’ve had with the workers has been extremely rude. I would have taken my business elsewhere if my landscaper didn’t already have us set up there.

Very disappointed with this business!!! Ordered a fountain from them because they seemed to have the best prices, only to find out that the pump is not included as with a few other nurseries that I checked with. Ok fine… whatever. Quoted 3 – 5 weeks, ordered it march 23^rd and just picked it up yesterday may 15^th, thats almost 8 weeks! Made several calls around 4 weeks to get status and just kept putting me off. Finally told them that I needed to have it installed for a party on the 18^th of may and he said that it was scheduled to come in on the 23^rd of may. He called manufacturer and was able to get it delivered to a different nursery where they reluctlantly picked it up and brought it to their nursery. Went to pick it up and had to wait around until his guys were off break. Horrible customer service the whole time start to finish. Its too bad, it is a very nice facility with great selection of plants and fountains, just can’t deal with the bad service. will definitely not be going back, too many other great nurseries to visit like green thumb in san marcos where the employeees are all so helpfull.

A little lacking on friendliness, but they have a great selection of plants and fountains.
It’s just nice to see a smile sometimes.

My experience with this Nursery is that the product is good but the service could be much better. I purchased a fountain and they gave me a competitive price. Also, the plants and grounds are beautiful. However, the customer service attitude was definitely lacking. I felt like I was a bother rather than a valued customer. I write this review because I think they have a good business otherwise and may want to work to improve their level of service based on the customer’s perspective.

It’s not that I don’t love this place, it just is what it is and it won’t be the only place to stop on a day for gardening inspiration. Half the grounds is devoted to fountain and statuary, so. They seem to have left annuals and flowering plants to other nurseries in favor of succulents. The prices in this department are fair I guess, not great and definitely not discount. I do love their greenhouse with indoor plants. This is where you will spend money you didn’t plan on. Everything is super healthy and beautiful. You will want one of everything. The guys I’ve seen working here won’t bother you, but if you engage them, they become really friendly and helpful.

Really love this nursery! They always have what I am looking for and more. Very nice man and his son run the business and they are always very helpful. We also bought our home fountain there and after five years it is still running perfectly. I definitely recommend this nursery!

My wife is a real estate broker and occasionally asks me to put together creative plantings as gifts for clients. Cordova Gardens is the perfect spot for finding what I need. They have a really good selection of artsy, high quality ceramic pots and unlike most nurseries they also have a several thousand foot green house filled with tropical house plants. When you walk in, even on a cool day, its like suddenly being in Costa Rica. Inside the Cordova greenhouse you’ll find everything from inexpensive 4″ bromiliads, orchards and dracaenas. If you have a few more bucks in your pockets they also sell great looking large indoor palms, figs, indoor giant birds of paradise etc.
Outside Cordova Garden are adding new succulents all the time and have an adequate supply of bedding plants and perennials too. Prices are good and if you’re like me and like a nursery thats not just like all the others, Cordova’s is worth a visit… regularly. Cordova Gardens is on Encinitas Blvd. about a mile or so east of I-​5 on the north side of the road.