The Hashimoto Nursery has withstood the test of time. The family-owned nursery was originally built back in 1935, seven years after the Hashimoto brothers settled in the city of Sawtelle. With the burgeoning Japanese population in the city, four Hashimoto brothers took the opportunity to open up a plant nursery. The location was originally named O.K. Nursery but, during the grim events of World War II, two of the brothers ended up returning to Japan while the other two decided to run the business until they were taken to the Manzanar Internment Camp for the extent of the war. After they were released, they decided to return to Sawtelle and re-open their nursery after officially changing the name to “Hashimoto Brothers Nursery.” Over the course of time, the original four brother reunited to run the business together. Eventually two went on to open their own nurseries, but to this day the original Hashimoto Nursery is still standing.
The nursery is home to a menagerie of flora. If you are a resident of any nearby areas, then you may have noticed how the location is bursting with greenery in contrast with the buildings and stores surrounding it. When I arrived, I appreciated the open space concept. With my first step into the nursery, I was greeted with a multitude of different flowers ranging from yellow primroses to hanging lavender flowers to rows upon rows of succulents.
I ventured towards the actual shop where I was met with Joe and Keiko, a couple that is part of the Hashimoto family. They guided me through the store where I found out that they did not have the Purple Shamrocks that I was looking for as they were in season during the Spring. But they were able to show me around the nursery. Keiko decided to be my guide. She took me into the cozy greenroom where they housed varying species of plants. I told Keiko that I was looking for plants that could thrive off of minimal water and sunlight in an apartment. I also mentioned that it would be a bonus if the plant could also improve the air quality around me. Keiko said that a nearly “indestructible” plant would be within the cactus and succulent family. So she showed me a beautiful array of Moon Cacti. The cactus requires low amounts of waterings and even less throughout the winter. Keiko also showed me a few other succulents such as the Devil’s Backbone succulent. The name does it justice as the crooked stick-like succulent definitely looked like a spine. Keiko finally came around to one of my favorite plants, a pothos plant, also known as the Devil’s Ivy. The pothos plant was awarded that name because it is impossible to kill, and stays green even if it lives in dark areas. The nursery had rows of pothos plants hanging from the ceiling. Each plant stood out with its bold flashes of healthy green leaves with yellow and cream marbling.
I then ventured outside to see other sections of the expansive nursery. One of my favorite sections was the edible flora area. All the plants in this section were plants that you could eat. They had bustling of basil plants. Rows upon rows of thriving yellow peppers. They even had small pots of growing bok choy. You could even smell the fresh dill as if it just sprung out of the pot. I was so tempted to purchase one, but growing edible plants requires a healthy amount of attention and stable sunlight that my apartment couldn’t supply.
As my visit to the Hashimoto Nursery was coming to an end, I thought about how amazing it was that the small business had survived this long. With dominant and intimidating companies like Amazon supplying the nation with objects with a click of a button, it is important to keep in mind the family-owned business. The stores and restaurants that started from the ground up and have maintained ethical and community-centered practices. Before I left, I ended up purchasing a Moon Cactus and a small Devil’s Ivy for no more than $13 total!
While looking at the picture of the original storefront on their website, it was endearing to note that not much has changed about the nursery. The owners still seemed just as content as they do now. I encourage everyone to at least visit the nursery. Being around flora has a way of rejuvenating the mind and body in small ways. If you’re obsessed with plants like I am then I definitely believe that this will become your new playground. The prices are unbelievably fair and in the end the money is going towards a company that has believed in itself for almost a century.