I shopped at Lowe's and Home Depot for plants and outdoor essentials. The winner earned my loyalty all summer long.

Terri PetersMay 31, 2024, 21:51 IST

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.

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

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

Home Depot's selection of potting soil was right out front for easy loading.

Buying soil at Home Depot seemed convenient. Terri Peters

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

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

Lowe's won for its display of outdoor furniture.

There were a few outdoor setups at Lowe's. Terri Peters

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

One of my favorite things about Lowe's is its clearance section.

I love looking through Lowe's clearance plants. Terri Peters

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

I liked Lowe's section of plants that do well in Florida.

Lowe's had plenty of plants on display.Terri Peters

Overall, Lowe's would be my pick for summer shopping.

I enjoyed walking around the greenhouse area at Lowe's.Terri Peters

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