You can drive Hawthorne Boulevard countless times without realizing that behind one storefront is something that feels much closer to a tropical botanical garden than a typical nursery.

Rainforest Flora, Inc. has operated in Torrance since 1974 and specializes in Tillandsias—better known as air plants—along with staghorn ferns, bromeliads and other unusual plants. Its Torrance location carries a much broader selection than the company offers through its online store.

But you don’t have to be a serious plant collector to enjoy it.

Inside, visitors encounter rock walls covered in plants, waterfalls and ponds filled with colorful koi and turtles. The experience has become enough of a local attraction that families sometimes stop simply to wander around, see the animals and take in the greenery.

The nursery sits at 19121 Hawthorne Boulevard. Current business hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; it is closed Mondays.

It is one of those wonderful Torrance surprises where the destination is hiding behind a road you thought you already knew.

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