Like I said, I have no doubt they'll do the right thing, of course, but it would have saved them time and money and effort - and saved me frustration and disappointment - if they'd done the right thing in the first place.
I understand that you are disappointed 😢 … however I think it’s unreasonable to expect alliums and gladioli in full bloom to be transported intact.
The only folk who do that are those who are transporting plants in bloom for display at Chelsea etc … and their transportation will cost a lot more than you will have been charged. Some suppliers would have removed the flower stems before packing.
You have the bulbs to grow on for next year … the same with the hostas etc. That’s what gardening is about.
Unless you were guaranteed ‘display ready’ plants (which would’ve cost a great deal) I don’t think you have a case.
I’m sorry if you think that’s harsh.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I have been in your situation (not with Beth Chatto's nursery), and it's the most frustrating thing when you open the box expecting fine healthy plants and you're faced with such damage. I do appreciate your frustration.
It's only fair to take a deep breath and give them the chance to put things right. These days with digital photography, social media etc there is every opportunity for the customer to show the damage and not have to rely on a written description.
If l complain to a supplier (and not just about plants), l wouldn't think l was the first person it had happened to, although l would certainly curse my luck. The law of averages means it's bound to happen now and again, and this time the finger of fate has pointed at you.
If they turned round and refused to accept blame (and you only have to look at the thread that was started earlier today about Gardening Express to see what can happen), then that's a different story. They are a nursery linked to a late much respected plantswoman, and l'm sure they will want to put things right. If not, then there are other steps you can take, trading standards maybe.
The boxes arrived intact and the right way up! Inside the boxes, the plants were in the base with pieces of cardboard splitting the interior into sections. The plants were covered in thick strips of packing paper, pushing down onto them to keep them in place. Almost all the damage was underneath this packing paper. One of the Gentiana was in a separate section from its pot! The Allium and Gladiolus all had broken necks where the box had been closed onto them. It wasn't the delivery company.
Just because the boxes were the right way up when they were delivered it doesn’t mean they were the right way up since they left the supplier. They may well have been unloaded and loaded onto different vans several times before they got to you.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I just had an order of some delicate plants from Ballyrobert and they arrived in beautiful condition, though, through the Royal Mail 48 service. They had ingeniously used little stakes/sticks to wedge the square plastic pots within narrow packing boxes so there was absolutely no movement. Not a leaf or stem was snapped. Sounds as though these weren't packed that way.
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It's how they respond, OP, that'll show their mettle.
I had a broken rose from Style Roses in March; they sent an immediate replacement and now both broken rose and new rose are doing fine.
Hopefully you can salvage those allium for next year but that really must be disappointing. I am surprised people ship them in bloom, though.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
It's only fair to take a deep breath and give them the chance to put things right. These days with digital photography, social media etc there is every opportunity for the customer to show the damage and not have to rely on a written description.
If l complain to a supplier (and not just about plants), l wouldn't think l was the first person it had happened to, although l would certainly curse my luck. The law of averages means it's bound to happen now and again, and this time the finger of fate has pointed at you.
If they turned round and refused to accept blame (and you only have to look at the thread that was started earlier today about Gardening Express to see what can happen), then that's a different story.
They are a nursery linked to a late much respected plantswoman, and l'm sure they will want to put things right. If not, then there are other steps you can take, trading standards maybe.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.