I shopped at Lowe’s and Home Depot for plants and outdoor essentials. The winner earned my loyalty all summer long.

• I shopped at my local Lowe’s and Home Depot stores to see which had the better selection.
• The Lowe’s I visited seemed better laid out and had a better selection than the Home Depot.
• This summer, Lowe’s would be my pick for my garden and outdoor shopping needs.

I’ve lived in Florida for the last seven summers, and even though it’s warm and sunny most of the year here, we need to prep our outdoor areas for summertime.

Recently, I shopped at Lowe’s and Home Depot to see which home-improvement store would be my go-to summer shopping destination.

Both retailers have about 2,000 locations in the US and serve similar customer bases. The average Lowe’s shopper and Home Depot shopper is a white woman over age 60 who lives in the suburbs — I skew younger at age 43 and live in a small beach town that’s not quite a suburb but not urban either.