Silli

Seed suppliers don’t get much press, but they keep the city’s windowsills and fire-escape planters alive. Silli fits neatly into that quiet corner of the trade, tucked between the courthouses and the old printing buildings on Nassau Street.

The shop sits at 71 Nassau St, New York, NY 10038—an address that still feels like the Financial District’s backstage, where the sidewalks narrow and the lunch crowds thin out by three o’clock. What looks like a modest storefront from the street turns out to be a reliable source for varieties you won’t find in the big-box garden centers.

You’ll come across heirloom tomatoes, hardy greens for shady balconies, and the occasional packet of flowers that actually bloom in concrete cracks. The selection leans toward the practical, but there’s always a surprise or two for anyone willing to experiment with a new crop.

Directions and hours are easiest to pull up on the map. If you need to call ahead, the number is the same one that’s been there since the neighborhood was still called Newspaper Row. Most people just walk in, though—it’s the kind of place where the door chime is the only greeting you’ll need.