Nearly Century-Old Greenhouse and Nursery in Northeast Portland Will Close for the Spring

“The future is a little bit hazy, just like my eye is,” says the owner of Marbott’s.

Arbor Lodge is filled with people who go hard on their gardens. This is Vince who I've seen put countless hours into his. His garden looks amazing and he genuinely loves doing it. (Chris Nesseth)
By Rachel Saslow

Northeast Portland gardeners who have been buying their annuals from Marbott’s Greenhouse & Nursery every spring will have to come up with a new plan this year. The garden store is going on hiatus for April, May and June due to the owner’s health.

Larry Marbott, the third-generation owner of the nursery at 1808 NE Columbia Blvd., just north of the Woodlawn neighborhood, is recovering from complications from eye surgery. Despite social media rumors that the gardening store is permanently kaput, Marbott has not made that decision.

“The future is a little bit hazy, just like my eye is,” Marbott says.

Marbott has been in and out of doctor’s appointments and hasn’t yet put up a sign out front or updated the nursery’s website to alert customers to the temporary closure this spring.

Customers have mostly taken the news in stride and wished Marbott well in his recovery, though some have expressed alarm at where they will buy their tomato plants this year.

“There’s a lot of X factors,” Marbott says about the nursery’s prospects come summer. “There’s my health, finding help, the situation in the city—a lot of things to deliberate.”

Marbott’s Greenhouse and Nursery opened in 1930. They grow 90% of the plants they sell on site in their eight greenhouses. The store specializes in outdoor annuals and perennials, trees and shrubs, hanging baskets, unique houseplants and home goods.

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