I ordered potato seed last November from DT. Brown. They said delivery would be from Jan 7th onward. I had an e-mail on the 7th saying they had been dispatched and they arrived the next day. Moreover, they were a good size and in excellent condition.
Last year I ordered from a different supplier and not only were the seed potatos two months late they were a miss-match selection, one type had been substituted, and a third of them were not worth planting. I am not naming the supplier because last year Scotland had diabolical weather and I put it down to that.
The potato that they sent as a substitute was 'Athlete' which I can thoroughly recommend for taste and volume.
I do most of my garden shopping online these days, especially for plants...get virtually anything you like delivered to the door, so I no longer need a garden centre for that, although I always look around briefly just in case they've got a plant I'm about to order on the internet... I see garden centres plant sales as supplying the needs of those very new to gardening mostly... or just want something for the summer...
..I do like to see lots of everything else though... including a delicatessen, farm style shop... and outdoor clothing type like Cotton Traders etc.. plus all the accessories... pots, composts, tools etc.. kitchen and homewares too... I like all that..
...not bothered if staff don't know much about plants as I wouldn't be asking their advice in any case, as I will already have done my research, but if they speak English I'd consider that a bonus...
Have to agree that nursery and garden centres are 2 different things - although both require good car parking access and strong (preferably good looking ) young men to help with loading heavy items.
For me, a nursery sells mainly plants (home reared) and often specialises. A good one with lots of high quality (not too expensive) plants is a gem - I don't need it to have a loo or coffee shop - but I do like it to look well kept & reasonably organised. I would expect the staff to know their stuff and be able to advise on plant selection. Woottens (as mentioned by Dove) is an excellent example (they do have a loo in a shed tho' !).
A GC is somewhere I visit for compost, chemicals, furniture, tools & landscaping materials (a plant is often something of an impulse buy). Because tools, furniture etc are expensive it takes longer to choose and may involve much browsing & deliberation - so clean loos and a coffee shop are quite important. Knowledgeable staff are a must and a delivery service for larger / heavier items is pretty essential.
I also like to see garden related things in a GC - books, clothing, aquatic kit, bird food, flower arranging kit etc.
However, I don't need the scented candles, cakes, toys, kitchen equipment or other non-gardening stuff that some GCs choose to stock .....
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
Have to say I didn't really think about plants or seeds at GCs when I posted earlier - only ever buy them online, mostly use reputable suppliers of native plants for the wildlife garden and Suttons for veg seeds and seed potatoes etc.It is nice that the staff at my garden center know what a seed potato is though and can talk about veg gardening. The lady at the local farm shop has a 5 acre smallholding too. Thinking about it the only 'plant' I bought at a GC this year was the Christmas tree, oh and a mixed pot of heather that just caught my eye.
The garden centres I visit in Dorset all want me to 'join' so I can have bargain prices as a member so I don't go to any of them to buy at all, just to see what is available at what price. They are as bad as the supermarkets with their 'loyalty' cards. If I joined all the places I go to my pockets full of cards,would drag the ground. I find a good thing to do is go to Garden Club sales, village fairs and fetes where there is usually a local plant stall and you can get a cup of coffee and home made cake if that's your fancy at a very reasonable price. I particularly dislike the garden centres where you have to march through acres of very expensive 'tat' before you as much as catch a glimpse of a real live plant. I particularly like an out of the way nursery where all there is to see is plants in rude health and a knowledgeable owner happy to chat about said plants.
I've never gone out to buy plant and thought " I hope they have a good coffee shop" I can make coffee at home. I just want good plants at a sensible price.
I use garden centres regularly to shop for bargains, those items that they want to get rid of because they have flowered or it's the wrong time of the year.
always get 50% off, try for 75%.
nurserys for more special purchases, trees and shrubs and the more unusual perennials.
online for hard to find specials, ie trilliums snowdrops hellebores.
I agree with the first bit of AWBs comment, as i do the same. I find certain B&Qs, have great looking plants in their reduced section. I've bought all my hellebores that i have in the garden this way. And primulas too.
I have realised over the years that plants I buy from GC's die on me far more regularly than those I buy online. I wonder whether its because GC's sell plants that have been manipulated into looking good on display (they must have loads of flowers etc) -which is not great for the long term health of the plant, and certainly does not match the conditions they are likely to encounter in my humble garden. Online plants from good nurseries very rarely arrive smothered in flowers, and yet they seem to establish so much better.
I am still tempted by GC purchases (who isn't).
The only hellebores that have failed to make a reappearance in my garden this year are the beautiful specimens i bought from GC's last year. So I have just ordered some more Hayloft plugs. I will have to wait a couple of years to see flowers, but they will be there for the long haul
Posts
I ordered potato seed last November from DT. Brown. They said delivery would be from Jan 7th onward. I had an e-mail on the 7th saying they had been dispatched and they arrived the next day. Moreover, they were a good size and in excellent condition.
Last year I ordered from a different supplier and not only were the seed potatos two months late they were a miss-match selection, one type had been substituted, and a third of them were not worth planting. I am not naming the supplier because last year Scotland had diabolical weather and I put it down to that.
The potato that they sent as a substitute was 'Athlete' which I can thoroughly recommend for taste and volume.
I do most of my garden shopping online these days, especially for plants...get virtually anything you like delivered to the door, so I no longer need a garden centre for that, although I always look around briefly just in case they've got a plant I'm about to order on the internet... I see garden centres plant sales as supplying the needs of those very new to gardening mostly... or just want something for the summer...
..I do like to see lots of everything else though... including a delicatessen, farm style shop... and outdoor clothing type like Cotton Traders etc.. plus all the accessories... pots, composts, tools etc.. kitchen and homewares too... I like all that..
...not bothered if staff don't know much about plants as I wouldn't be asking their advice in any case, as I will already have done my research, but if they speak English I'd consider that a bonus...
Have to agree that nursery and garden centres are 2 different things - although both require good car parking access and strong (preferably good looking
) young men to help with loading heavy items.
For me, a nursery sells mainly plants (home reared) and often specialises. A good one with lots of high quality (not too expensive) plants is a gem - I don't need it to have a loo or coffee shop - but I do like it to look well kept & reasonably organised. I would expect the staff to know their stuff and be able to advise on plant selection. Woottens (as mentioned by Dove) is an excellent example (they do have a loo in a shed tho' !).
A GC is somewhere I visit for compost, chemicals, furniture, tools & landscaping materials (a plant is often something of an impulse buy). Because tools, furniture etc are expensive it takes longer to choose and may involve much browsing & deliberation - so clean loos and a coffee shop are quite important. Knowledgeable staff are a must and a delivery service for larger / heavier items is pretty essential.
I also like to see garden related things in a GC - books, clothing, aquatic kit, bird food, flower arranging kit etc.
However, I don't need the scented candles, cakes, toys, kitchen equipment or other non-gardening stuff that some GCs choose to stock .....
Have to say I didn't really think about plants or seeds at GCs when I posted earlier - only ever buy them online, mostly use reputable suppliers of native plants for the wildlife garden and Suttons for veg seeds and seed potatoes etc.It is nice that the staff at my garden center know what a seed potato is though and can talk about veg gardening. The lady at the local farm shop has a 5 acre smallholding too. Thinking about it the only 'plant' I bought at a GC this year was the Christmas tree, oh and a mixed pot of heather that just caught my eye.
The garden centres I visit in Dorset all want me to 'join' so I can have bargain prices as a member so I don't go to any of them to buy at all, just to see what is available at what price. They are as bad as the supermarkets with their 'loyalty' cards. If I joined all the places I go to my pockets full of cards,would drag the ground. I find a good thing to do is go to Garden Club sales, village fairs and fetes where there is usually a local plant stall and you can get a cup of coffee and home made cake if that's your fancy at a very reasonable price. I particularly dislike the garden centres where you have to march through acres of very expensive 'tat' before you as much as catch a glimpse of a real live plant. I particularly like an out of the way nursery where all there is to see is plants in rude health and a knowledgeable owner happy to chat about said plants.
1. Variety
2. How they are cared for
3. The bargain section
4. If none of the plants appear to be cared for, I won't be buying.
I've never gone out to buy plant and thought " I hope they have a good coffee shop" I can make coffee at home. I just want good plants at a sensible price.
I use garden centres regularly to shop for bargains, those items that they want to get rid of because they have flowered or it's the wrong time of the year.
always get 50% off, try for 75%.
nurserys for more special purchases, trees and shrubs and the more unusual perennials.
online for hard to find specials, ie trilliums snowdrops hellebores.
I agree with the first bit of AWBs comment, as i do the same. I find certain B&Qs, have great looking plants in their reduced section. I've bought all my hellebores that i have in the garden this way. And primulas too.
I have realised over the years that plants I buy from GC's die on me far more regularly than those I buy online. I wonder whether its because GC's sell plants that have been manipulated into looking good on display (they must have loads of flowers etc) -which is not great for the long term health of the plant, and certainly does not match the conditions they are likely to encounter in my humble garden. Online plants from good nurseries very rarely arrive smothered in flowers, and yet they seem to establish so much better.
I am still tempted by GC purchases (who isn't
).
The only hellebores that have failed to make a reappearance in my garden this year are the beautiful specimens i bought from GC's last year. So I have just ordered some more Hayloft plugs
. I will have to wait a couple of years to see flowers, but they will be there for the long haul