Shopping in Auburndale

Knox Nursery, Inc. started in 1962 on the Knox family's porch. Although the family-run nursery has grown to encompass more than 23 acres since then, the second-generation owners haven’t forgotten their humble beginnings, still emphasizing the down-home customer service that made the business what it is today. They and their staff lovingly harnesses the Floridian sunshine to produce plugs and liners, cultivating more than 5,000 plant varieties ranging in size from young ones destined for greenhouses to 4-inchers perfect for landscaping.

At the retail center, staffers stand ready to help green-thumbed shoppers to navigate the selection of annuals and perennials or pick out shrubs to block views of money-filled swimming pools from jealous neighbors. Palms, trees, and vegetables await their chance to fill out gardens or finish landscapes.

Originally designed as a hangar for commercial passenger paper airplanes, Parchment boasts 3,700 square feet of flattened trees and three-dimensional giftable goods. Plan ahead for the next formal occasion or beetle-fighting club mass mailing with custom invitations, which can be fancified with vellum overlays, ribbons, and wrap-around pocket folds. The cozy store carries top-notch stationers such as Crane & Co., which supplies the stock for U.S. currency printing, and Caspari, which supplies elegant placecards on which counterfeiters would counterfeit U.S. currency if doing so wasn't so unfashionably illegal. Just collaborate with Parchment's patient staff by letting them know the project you're planning and what you have in mind.

At Marie-France, customers can peruse a wide selection of fashionable threads that add a dose of style much more effectively than crafting a pair of shorts from a Matisse painting. Specializing in providing cutting-edge yet uncommon fashions for 13 years, Marie-France offers an eye-catching mix of affordable apparel, accessories, and jewelry for the discerning shopper. Visitors can check out handbags ($35–$60), dresses ($40–$75), tops and blouses ($32–$45), novelty tees ($21–$35), and racecar-tire cocktail dresses to spiff up their wardrobes. A welcoming atmosphere doused in soothing lighting helps make every visit a relaxing experience. Additionally, a helpful staff of fashion-forward apparel aficionados will help customers pick out fetching items while making sure visitors don’t walk out wearing necklaces as flip flops.

Jess and Dano Kinnee love cycling, whether on mountain or road terrain. Drawing on a lifetime of work in bike shops, Dano opened Greenway Bicycles to help spread his cycling pastime deeper into central Florida. Today his shop deals in a diverse array of bikes from Mongoose to Schwinn. As a certified bicycle mechanic, he can also perform tune-ups and install modifications on any bike, from adding new chains and trueing wheels to replacing the playing cards in the spokes. When cyclists need new gear, Greenway has a selection of bike gear from sunglasses to cycling shoes to choose from. The shop is also located right on a Florida Greenway trail, making it a convenient stop for cyclists before or during scenic rides.

Mattress World's owners bring 30 years of experience in the mattress industry to their five stores, which stock a wide variety of Serta, Simmons, and Tempur-Pedic sleeping surfaces. Once patrons choose their desired mattress or mattress set, clerks call patrons' attention to the more than 50 styles of headboards, frames, and bedding, which add height and style to plush, pillow-topped mattresses. The store offers delivery and set-up services, dispatching staffers—who first remove old frames and bedding without the use of dangerous black holes—to construct new beds on-site.