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nutsaboutflowers

Ordering from a Garden Catalogue

nutsaboutflowers
14 years ago

Has anyone here ever ordered from Spring Garden in Ontario?

I've never ordered anything from a gardening catalogue before.

They have a picture on their website of a Butterfly Blue Scabiosa that looks really pretty. I don't remember ever seeing them at the greenhouse. Are they common? Could I find seeds if I looked?

I'm just starting to "branch out" from my usual annuals and would like to plant more unusual perennials, but don't really know where to start. Should I just stick to what's at the greenhouse for now?

Comments (8)

  • Ginny McLean_Petite_Garden
    14 years ago

    Check out Mail order perennials a few messages down. I asked the same question last fall.

    Ginny

  • hmacdona1
    14 years ago

    I ordered a bunch of sale items from them recently. I was disappointed that most of what I ordered was "no longer available" and I didn't know this until I received the box in the mail with only a couple of items. I would not have gone through the expense of paying for the shipping if I had known. I wish they would keep their website up to date.

  • newine_gw
    14 years ago

    Look them up in the Dave's Garden website.....there is a Garden Watchdog area. The rating is not particularly good.I have got into the habit of checking there to see what the customer feedback is on any mailorder place that I might be interested in......saves a lot of disappointment.

  • weeper_11
    14 years ago

    I think Butterfly Blue scabiosa is quite common. If you can't find it in greenhouses, the cultivar "Misty Butterflies" is quite similar (fairly similar color, same height, etc.)

    Or else just try a more reliable mail order company. I'm not sure how Veseys and Dominion seed house rate on Garden Watchdog, but I've ordered from both of them and had good luck.

  • canadian_daisy
    14 years ago

    Beware of Spring Garden. Coincidentally the generic Gardening in Canada forum has a recent thread about them: orders which haven't been fulfilled, busy phone lines, poor customer service. I was one of the lucky ones - part of my order did arrive in good condition, the balance was discontinued and I wasn't charged for an un-delivered product. Others weren't so lucky.

  • Ginny McLean_Petite_Garden
    14 years ago

    Just got off the phone from Spring Gsrden.....I made the mistake of ordering from them last fall. I finally got my order for irises and daylilies in November! Of course nothing made it. They cashed my cheque in March after invoicing me twenty times for the order I sent the cheque with! Apparently I will be reimbursed the full amount. We'll see if that becomes a reality in August? That's what I was told. Maybe I'll be a lucky one too.
    Never any problem with Dominion, McFayden's or Vesey's.
    Botanus are excellent to do business with.

    As for Scabiosa, I have both Butterfly Blue and Blue Perfecta. Both were bought at Superstore last spring and both are doing very well. $3.99 I believe for a 4" pot.

    Ginny

  • northspruce
    14 years ago

    Scabiosas aren't hard to grow from seed either. I wintersowed some a couple of years ago and they worked great. They are a pretty plant. I think I might have even bought the seed off a McKenzies rack or something like that.

  • Crazy_Gardener
    14 years ago

    Spring Gardens used to be Rockwood Gardens years ago, let's just say I wouldn't touch the order form with a 10' pole.

    Sharon

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