Moving from the SF Bay area, I was a bit dismayed by the blah stonescape that surrounded my pool. I filled a cart at a BigBox store and fried several hundred dollars worth of plants my first year. Then one day I decided to see what the big yellow truck across from Cosco was advertising. Ron was extremely helpful in explaining what would work in colorful pots and even steered me clear of pricier plants that I would surely kill in my full sun backyard. Their plants are grown to withstand our summer heat. He told me how to salvage a CA agave (purchased elsewhere previously) that was not a good choice for Phoenix summers and he explained how growing instructions often referred to CA, not AZ. I appreciated his helpfulness and his honesty. By last fall, I was pretty impressed with myself--the various sized pots added color and everything remained alive. I recently brought in a cactus culled from a neighbor (not purchased at Valle Verde) seeking advice on what might be causing "rot" on the bottom and wondering if it might be something that could contaminate my other cacti. Ron explained how to re-cut and replant (hopefully without whatever was eating it remembering) and I also came home with a candidleia that will look stunning in a turquoise pot. I'm loving this place. The staff are all friendly and very knowledgeable and really want their plants to thrive under their new owner's care. I will definitely be back!