Griffith

A lifestyle and homewares shop on Banna Avenue that gives Griffith a considered alternative to the chain stores at the edge of town. Behind the shopfront is an eclectic, well-edited mix: ceramics and candles, decor and giftware, a rack of clothing and accessories, children's pieces and a shelf of books, assembled with more of a metropolitan eye than a country main street usually offers. Open seven days, it has become a reliable stop for a present or a small domestic indulgence, the sort of independent retailer that keeps a regional high street interesting. It trades on selection and presentation rather than volume, and works as much as a browse as a shop. In a town better known for its food and wine, it is a reminder that Griffith's main street still supports genuinely independent shopkeeping.

On Mackay Avenue in Yoogali, just outside Griffith, this family-owned nursery has been growing trees and shrubs for the Riverina since 1959 — a long enough history that it now counts more than fifty years of membership with the Nursery and Garden Industry of NSW. It is a working production nursery as much as a retail destination, supplying landscapers, councils, schools and developers alongside everyday gardeners, and topping up its own range by sourcing from some of the country's better production growers when needed. The result is a stock list built for practical, regional gardening — trees and shrubs suited to inland New South Wales conditions rather than a boutique edit of rare specimens — with roses among the retail offerings photographed on site. It's the kind of place where the business itself is the attraction: a site that has clearly grown into its role over six decades, serving trade and retail customers from the same paddocks and greenhouses. Open six days, with generous weekday hours and a Saturday morning slot for home gardeners fitting in errands, it rewards a considered visit rather than a quick dash — worth the drive out from town for anyone planting seriously, or simply for those who want their trees and shrubs to have already proven themselves in Riverina soil.