Shopping in Wixom

English Gardens began as a single, family-owned nursery in 1954, and has since blossomed into a full-service landscaping and garden center with multiple locations, all owned and operated by second-generation family members. Each location facilitates both indoor and outdoor gardening projects with a large selection of gardening tools, seed packets, and transplant-ready plants extracted from their original soil by renowned surgeons. Garden accents such as bird feeders, patio furnishings, and lounge chairs dress up outside spaces with comfort and design, and the florist department brings the outdoor flourish inside by arranging fresh-cut floral bouquets and gift baskets for all manner of occasions. Workshops and in-store presentations also allow the green-thumbed experts to impart advice on common gardening and decorating topics such as building a kitchen herb garden or housetraining a dogwood tree.

Originally conceived as a website dedicated to sharing information on rock climbing and mountain biking, Trail's Edge Cyclery opened its first storefront in 2003; a second followed in 2010. The shop's experienced mechanics and sales associates are all cyclists themselves, channeling their love of peddle-based transportation into comprehensive bike-repair, -rental, and -hypnotizing services. Biking gear and climbing gear from Surly, Cannondale, and other leading brands are sold online and at both analog locations in Plymouth and Milford.

A catnapper’s paradise awaits at Michigan Discount Mattress, where dozens of napping slabs await trial dozes. The mattress menagerie is populated with a variety of species, including beds woven from memory foam, natural latex, viscose, and soy-based natural foam. Though they range from soft, pillow-top styles to ultrafirm cement blocks, each mattress comes from a quality brand, such as Corsicana, Restonic, and Nature’s Sleep.

In 1955, the world saw many famous firsts: President Eisenhower hosted the first televised presidential news conference, Gunsmoke began its legendary run, and Fortney Eyecare Associates opened its first practice. Today, a quintet of locations hosts board-certified doctors of optometry ready to keep Detroit peepers healthy and focused. After thorough exams, patients can decamp to Fortney’s frame shops, which house designer eyewear from labels including Ray-Ban, Prada, Nike, and Versace.

In addition to general eyewear, the practice also specializes in safety eyewear, working with businesses to supply and repair the type of industrial eyewear that's best for each workplace or astigmatic traffic cones. The national administrator of General Motors' prescription safety eyewear program since 1992, Fortney was hailed GM’s Supplier of the Year for its no-nonsense professional chops.

The equipment experts at MTEC (Midwest Tool & Equipment Center) have rented, sold, and fixed everything from lawn edgers to rough terrain forklifts for more than three decades. They turn DIY projects from drawings in ketchup on the backs of placemats into vivid reality by supplying homeowners with rental equipment ranging from rug cleaners to drywall sanders for hours, days, weeks, or weekends. The company’s technicians also sell industrious contraptions to committed handymen and fix equipment that has begun to rebel.

The daring design duo of Michael Byzewski and Dan Ibarra creates meticulous screen-printed posters. Utilizing their mastery of the three key senses—sight, touch and paper-cut evasion—the crafty companions fabricate award-winning designs that garner attention from publications such as Rolling Stone and Print magazine. Their mutual appreciation of music and design has propelled their poster-making prowess and allowed them the opportunity to create posters for acts such as Josh Ritter ($10+), The Decemberists ($30), and The Dead Weather ($25+). Supply dull walls with interesting conversation points with a poster from Surlyfest 2010 ($20) or the Fifth Annual No Coast Craft-O-Rama ($20), or show affection for the second dimension with a Flatstock 12 poster ($20).