Buying
I went twice last month to different centres, in Essex and was shocked to see ropey plants and not many of them. Would it have just been the tailing off of summer abundance or with online facilities are centres losing customers?
It might be I'm developing an idea of what works in my space and I've seen so many plant nurseries I'm jaded.
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I regularly see what I term rescue plants at my local GC and it is due to end of season clearance. You can sometimes pick up little gems here that only need a little tlc and all at bargain prices. Some friends of mine deliberately seek these out.
Ropey plants are to be expected at the end of season in garden centres where staff know little and care less about watering and care. As LB says, you can sometimes pick up a bargain and revive it.
If you want well cared for plants or plants that aren't the same old mass produced varieties found in garden centre chains you need to find and nurture a specialist nursery where they grow their own plants form seeds, cuttings and divisions and know about how and where and when to plant and care for them.
Alternatively, buy seeds from good suppliers such as Seedaholic, Plant World, Chiltern - no doubt other posters can recommend more - and grow your own babies to get good plants that are out of the ordinary and then you'll also have spares to swap with friends. Joining a local garden group will also give you opportunities for swaps.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
If you want specific plants, I think you are much better using on line nurseries, many of which sell very good plants, often far cheaper than GCs.
for the fag ends of the aristocracy.
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
I think it's all desperately sad.
I started my horticulture career in a garden centre when I left school in 1979.
It's very often the first place new gardeners go to find plants. What a disappointment these days.
Hopefully they find enough to get them started and then start looking further afield, internet , specialist nurseries etc.
I feel a lot of the blame is the likes of Wyevale / Dobbies etc being owned by "investment companies" who just look at the balance sheet and don't care whether folk buy portmerion pottery or pot plants. There's no passion, no commitment.
Lots of the smaller independents have been tempted to sell up and build houses on the plots. Understandable , but sad.
Our local GC is fine if you want a vase, jewellery, books, chocolates, or a coffee. If you want stuff for the garden, not quite so good...
However, I've just spent £15 online with Seedaholic and £60 with two well known bulb companies...
Hosta - we used to have a lovely, small GC ten minutes away. Exactly as you describe - it's now houses
Last edited: 03 September 2016 10:25:07
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Aym, buying online is only risky if you buy from unknown sources selling on Ebay. Buying online from reputable nurseries and seedsmen is as safe as going to the nursery and buying in person.
If you are looking for interesting and more unusual seeds, I would really recommend Chiltern seeds.
Used them for years, and very happy with the quality, and service.
for the fag ends of the aristocracy.
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
I agree Pdoc - Chiltern are fabulous!
I am lucky that I have a good nursery only a few miles away from where I live. They both buy in plants and propagate their own...a mixture. It is a family concern and they really do look after their plants. There are sometimes bargains. I admit to recently being tempted by the Wyevale sale and I did get some nice bargains which I will use in a garden I am working with a builder on. I posted about them on here.
But when I asked the Wyevale manager no less about the reliability of their Bluebell bulbs, I couldn't believe the answer he gave me. I explained that I lived next to a bluebell wood and wanted pure stock for my own garden. He said something like, ' bluebell bulbs will be in stock during the winter for spring planting'. I couldn't believe it! Manager of a garden centre in SE England, the heart of Bluebell land and he showed this ignorance. I posted a thread on here asking for a good supplier and was recommended Broadleigh Bulbs, who I have since ordered from. Not got them yet but I feel confident buying from a place recommended here.
Last edited: 03 September 2016 10:53:47
Sometimes paying extra for quality is cheaper than buying what turns out to be crap - not just wasted money on bad or wrong seeds but wasted money and time on sowing compost, trays, heating, watering etc.
You're near enough to Beth Chatto's garden nursery to go and buy one good plant with known provenance and grow it on to multiply by seed or division.
Last edited: 03 September 2016 10:56:16
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw