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| - The odds are that if you're a yelper, and you've motored up Hayden Rd. in Scottsdale and passed Harper's Nursery, you've noticed the L.E.D. powered 'open' sign shaped like a coffee cup hanging in the window...
It took me a few weeks to get down there and investigate, but one day I decided to give it a shot, as I had some busy work to get done, and I wanted to go somewhere besides Jamaican Blue or Orange Table - my usual stops. What I discovered was Oscar's Coffee Bar.
Tucked in near the entrance to Scottsdale's last family-owned and operated nursery, one will find a java joint like no other in the valley. While it might not be the sort of place you want to meet a snooty high profile client or present a portfolio, it is absolutely the sort of place to go when you want to sit down with a cup of expertly-roasted coffee in a garden-like setting that almost makes one feel like they're on sabbatical in Central America.
Inside the coffee shop itself, there is a fun assortment of musical instruments including a piano, a few guitars, as well as a small amplifier and microphone - in addition to gardening information galore. There's also a nice vintage Pioneer stereo that's usually playing something good.
All in all, its a great place. The nursery itself feels more like a park than a place of business, and there are nearly a dozen little benches, chairs, and the like sprinkled throughout the yard. The staff is superb, and its one of those places where everything is for sale - including the chairs you sit on and the tables you park your latte.
In conclusion, support this business. And if you're buying seeds, plants or trees, buy them at Harpers. They won't die like the ones you buy at Lowe's and Home Depot. Why? Because Harper's grows most everything they sell, and its acclimated to the desert. They'll tell you how to plant what you buy, and they'll make sure you have everything you need. They'll even put it in the ground for you if you so wish... for a fee.
Once again, pleasantly surprised with this one... Pay them a visit! I mean, where else in the valley can you sip a mocha and peruse a greenhouse at the same time?
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