I found a lot of what I was looking for while shopping at Lowe’s. Terri Peters
I shopped at my local Lowe’s and Home Depot stores to see which had the better selection.
The Lowe’s I visited seemed better laid out and had a better selection than the Home Depot.
This summer, Lowe’s would be my pick for my garden and outdoor shopping needs.
I’ve lived in Florida for the last seven summers, and even though it’s warm and sunny most of the year here, we need to prep our outdoor areas for summertime.
Recently, I shopped at Lowe’s and Home Depot to see which home-improvement store would be my go-to summer shopping destination.
Both retailers have about 2,000 locations in the US and serve similar customer bases. The average Lowe’s shopper and Home Depot shopper is a white woman over age 60 who lives in the suburbs — I skew younger at age 43 and live in a small beach town that’s not quite a suburb but not urban either.
I was curious which of the two chains I’d prefer, but I got my answer after visiting both. Here’s how my local Lowe’s and Home Depot compared.
Both stores had lots of vegetables and herbs and were running some good sales.
I found that Lowe’s (left) had some better sales than Home Depot (right). Terri Peters
One of my favorite things to plant in Florida’s warmer months is a collection of herbs and vegetables, so I looked for those in both stores first.
Both stores had Bonnie plants and had them on sale, but Lowe’s had a better deal. At Home Depot, three plants were on sale for $12, but at Lowe’s, three plants were on sale for $10.
Lowe’s had a great deal on tomato plants, but Home Depot did not.
Home Depot (right) had tomato plants but I found cheaper ones at Lowe’s (left). Terri Peters
This summer, I’m hoping to plant a few robust tomato plants in containers on my back patio, so I looked at the options at both stores.
At Home Depot, large tomato plants were $20 each, but at Lowe’s they were on sale at two plants for $30, making each just $15.
This seemed like a pretty great deal to me, especially since the Florida heat can be hard on plants. It’s nice to find them on sale just in case the worst happens once you get them home.
Home Depot’s selection of potting soil was right out front for easy loading.
Buying soil at Home Depot seemed convenient. Terri Peters
At the entrance to Home Depot’s garden center, there were lots of different varieties of potting soil, top soil, mulch, and other garden needs stacked up for the taking.
Lots of different types of soil were on sale, and I liked that most brands were situated right up front, where it’d be easy to pull up and load the heavy bags into my car.
Lowe’s had a few varieties of soil on sale, but the rest were toward the back of the store.
Soil can be difficult to move. Terri Peters
Lowe’s kept most of its soil and mulch toward the back of the garden center. Still, there were a few brands that were on sale positioned up at the front for easy loading.
If I planned to buy soil at Lowe’s, I’d probably choose whatever was on sale and displayed at the front of the garden center to keep things easy.
Home Depot’s outdoor furniture display was lacking a bit.
Home Depot had a lot of furniture cushions but not a lot of chairs on display. Terri Peters
This year, we have plans to replace our patio furniture, so I was excited to shop for things like outdoor chairs and backyard dining tables at both stores.
There weren’t many pieces of outdoor furniture on display at Home Depot, though. Although I passed a big section of grills, there were only a few dining tables and one chair and umbrella display assembled for customers to look at.
I find it tough to choose patio furniture without seeing it fully assembled, so I was disappointed.
Lowe’s won for its display of outdoor furniture.
There were a few outdoor setups at Lowe’s. Terri Peters
At Lowe’s, there were early holiday sales going on on patio furniture, and tons of different chairs, tables, umbrellas, and fire pits were assembled and on display.
It’s always great to see these kinds of items fully assembled, so I appreciated the wide variety shown in this section.
Lowe’s was the clear winner for me in this department.
Lowe’s had lots of DIY-inspo on display. Home Depot didn’t.
My local Lowe’s (left) had some inspiring displays, but my Home Depot (right) kept things simple. Terri Peters
Lots of end caps in Lowe’s garden center were turned into displays of DIY raised gardens or stone flower beds.
As someone who loves to walk through a garden center and dream of tasks I can take on in my own backyard, I loved seeing the inspiration sprinkled throughout the area. At Home Depot, there weren’t any DIY projects modeled.
Instead, Home Depot was well-stocked with pre-potted arrangements of succulents and flowers.
One of my favorite things about Lowe’s is its clearance section.
I love looking through Lowe’s clearance plants. Terri Peters
I love perusing the clearance cart in the back of Lowe’s garden center. These carts can be tough to find, but they’re often filled with discounted plants that just need a bit of TLC to flourish.
Some of the most prosperous plants in our yard have come from a Lowe’s clearance rack and have cost just a few dollars. I get a lot of satisfaction out of rehabilitating a plant that would have otherwise dried up, so this section is one of my favorites.
I didn’t find any clearance plant section at Home Depot, so this seems to be a special perk of hitting Lowe’s garden centers.
The two stores had very different selections of outdoor pots.
Lowe’s (left) had basic pots available. Home Depot (right) had some colorful options. Terri Peters
Lowe’s had a lot more terracotta pots on display than Home Depot. Both stores had a big variety of pots, from plastic pots with built-in drains to whiskey barrels for making larger flower-bed displays.
Home Depot seemed to have more cute, patterned ceramic pots than Lowe’s, but the selection at both was plentiful.
I liked Lowe’s section of plants that do well in Florida.
Lowe’s had plenty of plants on display. Terri Peters
Lowe’s also had a few different sections with signs indicating which plants would perform exceptionally well in Florida, where I live.
I’m not sure if local recommendations are in every Lowe’s location, but I loved this section. Growing plants in the Sunshine State can be tough, especially with brutal temperatures, summer thunderstorms, and hurricane season, so it’s nice to have experts pick out plants made just for our climate.
I couldn’t find a “Florida” plants section at Home Depot.
Overall, Lowe’s would be my pick for summer shopping.
I enjoyed walking around the greenhouse area at Lowe’s. Terri Peters
I may not be a suburban woman in my 60s, but I definitely preferred Lowe’s to Home Depot for my summer outdoor and garden shopping needs.
In my opinion, Lowe’s plant selection just seemed better, from specialty blooms that excel in Florida to citrus trees to clearance finds begging for a loving home.
Both stores are about the same driving distance from me, but I’d return to Lowe’s over Home Depot this summer for the deals on plants and the impressive displays of outdoor furniture.
Plus, Lowe’s had many inspirational DIY projects on display that made me want to buy everything from stone pavers to raised beds to beautify my outdoor space.
Lowe’s felt more set up for beginner gardeners than Home Depot with its helpful signs and product displays, and I’ll absolutely return there throughout the summer for my outdoor and gardening needs.
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