| Rating | Author | Content |
| Neutral | Aries56
richmond hill, Ontario
Canada
(1 review)
October 26, 2009 | I placed my internet order in the middle of August. In the middle of September I sent several emails to the company, asking to provide details of shipment since it was written in my membership area that the items have been shipped. I received no answer to any of my emails. Following the advice gived by someone at the blog, I called the company early in the morning and spoke to a nice lady, who informed me that they are working on my order. Last week I got the shipment. The plants were nicely and professionally packed and in good conditions. Thanks! Hopefully, the company will improve the website service and provide more exact information about shipment and respond to emails. |
| Negative | karic
Edmonton
Canada
(1 review)
August 17, 2009 | In March I placed an order for 2 Top Hat Blueberry plants & paid for my order via cheque. That cheque cleared my bank May 21st. A letter was sent to me dated June 13th stating there had been a crop failure & a refund would be sent. I am still waiting for that refund (almost 9 wks now) & have been told by Spring Garden that a cheque has been issued to me, however the cheque was sent to head office for signing 6 WEEKS AGO & hasn't been returned yet for them to mail to me. THIS IS RIDICULOUS! Most reputable mail order companies do not cash your cheque until they have the order ready to ship; however this is not the case with Spring Garden. My cheque cleared the bank May 21st & the letter indicating crop failure is dated June 13th - did they not know at that time there was a crop failure? Other mail order companies I've dealt with under similar circumstances have sent a refund WITH the letter, or within a few days, but again Spring Garden chose not to do this. I spoke directly with Aaron, their Customer Relations head person. He told me that as soon as the cheque was signed it would be sent back to them & they would send it on to me & there was no way to hurry up the process & there was nothing he or anyone else could do about it there. I'm beginning to wonder how solvent this company is. I know I won't be ordering from them again & will be telling everyone I know about it. |
| Negative | 33libra
Winnipeg, MB
(Zone 3a)
(2 reviews)
July 30, 2009 | In 2008, I ordered 2 daylilies. By the time they bloomed, they were not what I had ordered. I sent an email and never received a reply. I thought I would give them the benefit of the doubt because I thought they were restructuring the business.
So I put in another order in March for 4 snail vines. I ordered from Spring Garden only because they seemed to be the only place that had them. The 4 arrived - 2 were beautiful and healthy and 2 almost dead. I emailed them on June 5th - no reply. Soon after babying the 2 vines, they died. I then emailed them on June 29th - still no reply.
That was my final order with Spring Garden Canada - I will never order from them again. |
| Negative | clematiscottage
Quadra Island, BC
(Zone 7b)
(2 reviews)
June 30, 2009 | I placed an order with these people way back in December but the plants never arrived. For the last few weeks, I have attempted to reach them by e-mail but never received so much as an acknowledgement. I have also tried over a dozen times to telephone them with an equal lack of success. I had also placed orders with their "sister" companies, Brecks and Henry Fields. Brecks order arrived but plants were in poor shape and failed to grow. From Henry Fields, I received only two plants. I have tried also to contact these other companies with no luck whatsoever. I have e-mailed asking them to cancel my orders and will never, never, never order from any of them again. I have requested the promised refund from Brecks but probably shouldn't hold my breath waiting for it to arrive. I will be reporting them to the Better Business Bureau as, in my opinion, the whole thing is a huge scam. At least, after reading the other reviews, I now know that I am not alone - this seems to be their preferred method of doing business. Buyer beware!!! |
| Negative | tokyokaren
Roberts Creek
Canada
(1 review)
June 02, 2009 | I placed an order early in the spring for 6 maximillian sunflowers and a bargain bag of 8 hostas. I received the sunflowers looking entirely dried up and dead in dry sawdust and they only sent ONE tiny one-eyed hosta instead of 8.
Like the others, I've tried their 1-800-917-2822 toll-free line dozens of times and it's always busy. I've sent two customer complaint emails through their web site and have yet to hear anything. I was heartened to hear that one man got through when he tried very early in the morning. Maybe I'll try that next. Until then, SCAM ALERT!
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| Negative | jardinomane
Gatineau
Canada
(1 review)
May 29, 2009 | I have been trying to get them to honnor their so-called no-risk guarantee for over a month. They have not replied to the 4 or 5 e-mails I have sent them. I can't seem to get anyone through their phone number since it is either busy or I get a message saying their voice mail is full. One of the problems I am trying to get a refund for is the Lace Hankerchief Iris wich they also identify as "iris tectorum variegata" (zone 4 to 9) wich is, in fact iris japonica variegata, ont hardy below zone 7... I though I was buying a perennial, not something that would die during its first Quebec winter. And I paid full price for 4 of these babies... I am fuming! As I am getting to know them better, I am convinced that this is intentionnaly misleading information. Grrrr... |
| Negative | BuckskinAnnie
Williams Lake, B.C.
Canada
(1 review)
May 15, 2009 | Phoned order to Spring Garden early April. Gentlemen on other end of the line was grumpy. I thought he was having a bad day. No order arriving well into May. On the 11th I tried phoning at different times of day. Line always busy. Same on the 12th, same on the 13th, same on the 14th. Finally I phoned at 6:00 am our time on the 15th and got an answer after the 12th try. I was informed my order was held up as they were waiting for a plant. I asked from where do they get their plants. I was informed from all over the U.S.and Canada. I asked why no one contacted me to ask if it should be left out of order and the rest shipped. The lady said it is all done by computer and no one knows if an order is not shipped unless it is pulled up on the computer. Does this mean that at the end of the shipping period someone looks on the computer finally and says "Oh Dear" , I guess this order was never shipped"!! I asked her how it is supposed to be pulled up on the computer when customers cannot even access them on their 800 number. On the 14th I even tried Canada 411, other websites, etc. to find a direct line to try to reach them. All I ended up with was speaking to some person in India from one of their Spring Garden websites. My order which was being held up is now cancelled. I will never order from Spring Garden, Brecks, Henry Fields, or Bits and Pieces who are all associated. Bits and Pieces is a knick knack type catalogue that comes out prior to Christmas. I had problems with an order with them. That is how I found out they are owned by the same person that owns Brecks.
Customers, be aware of who you are ordering from. I should have checked them out before getting excited over all the plant and bulb selections in the glossy catalogue.
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| Negative | garmonbozia
Frenchland
Canada
(1 review)
May 14, 2009 | I have made an order on March 20. Around early Spring (I think mid April), I send two customer service inquiries about the shipping date for my order. None of them were answered. I finally called, and perhaps about 10 tries I was able to connect to someone. The person over the phone told me that orders we'll be shipping them after April 27th. I waited to see if anything was shipped. Nothing. I know there is an climate element that I need to consider here, and I don't expect Spring Garden to ship items when the weather is inappropriate. This is understandable. What really bothers is me the complete disregard of my communication attempts and the lack of service. Meanwhile Spring Garden (and Brecks) continued to send me catalogues and spam almost every day of the week. I am not exaggerating this, believe me. One thing is to receive monthly catalogues from businesses, the other is finding a sales pitch in your mailbox every day. What was most bothersome to me is the fact that Brecks and Spring Garden started spamming me from my office address as well. I don't know how this even happened, but this was highly inappropriate and unprofessional (and embarrasing for me).
I called the company early May again, to ask to be removed from your mailing list. I was replied "our mailing lists only get updated every six months, so you'll be receiving more catalogues until they get updated again, later this year". I am sorry to be crude, but "ARE YOU KIDDING?". While I will wait for catalogue system to be updated, I will have to endure endless and embarrassing spam to my work address. This is unacceptable, and unprofessional. Meanwhile, there is no news about my order. There is a charge in my credit card account; but my plants have nowhere to be seen, nor an e-mail updating the status of the order.
On June 1st, 2009, garmonbozia added the following:
Update: My plants have yet to arrive. I have sent two e-mails and have been trying to reach them through phone. The phone is either busy, or directly goes to voice mail. Unfortunately, the mailbox is full. Scam much?
On June 3rd, 2009, garmonbozia added the following:
I decided to take the issue to Better Business Bureau. I strongly suggests others do the same thing, since there is something wrong going on here. |
| Negative | cloverdaleken
Abbotsford BC
Canada
(1 review)
September 30, 2008 | This is the second mail order company I have ordered wisteria plants from and both have been complete failures. The 4" plants I received were undersized and loaded with insects. I chose Spring Garden Canada because I was so pleased with the dormant climbing roses they sent me last year. In fairness they have promised me a full refund (whenever they can get around to it). My experieince has been that wisteria are best bought grafted in 3-5 gallon containers from your local supplier. I paid 30.00 each for well established plants bought locally, twice Spring Garden Canada's price for 4" rooted cuttings but well worth it. From now on I'll only buy seeds and bulbs by mail order. |
| Negative | careoline
Port Elgin, Ontario
Canada
(1 review)
July 23, 2007 | I read Dave's Watchdog reports and called company because Added Touch is a successful reputable Oakville company store name known to be dealing in retail giftware. Anne Brookmeyer is not known to staff now. I ordered plants in May 2007. Plants were shipped when available from London warehouse. Over $250.00 plants arrived in June and all but $25.00 were promised refunded by credit note not to credit card but to offset future orders from next catalogue. Next catalogue is promised to be issued in August 2007. The store is closed till then. This summer my garden is bare waiting for fall planting and I will have to hope that planting occurs before frost. I don't want to wait to use credits till next year because this company may not be around long. I am in the north country with early frost. I will have to choose something that establishes quickly. I did ask for a statement of account to have proof of credits but have not received a statement in over a month. Charges were paid in May and I have no reconciliation in writing. It is now July 2007. Staff are very agreeable and polite and well organized. Obviously dead plants were received in large quantities and shipped to me anyway. Many plants that I received were shipped in sealed plastic bags and obviously rotted with mold. Japanese Tree Peonies were most disappointing. I am hopeful that I can rectify my decision to order next year. Ordering shipments from catalogues may not be worthwhile from out of province or from within province. |
| Positive | ruthbrigance
Edmonton
Canada
(1 review)
June 27, 2007 | Managing a lawn while working a full-time job is tough, so I try to get all the help I can. A friend of mine gave me the Spring Garden catalogue and I decided to give it shot, even though I’ve had some bad experiences with ordering supplies through the mail. Placing an order is simple enough and they have a large botanical product mix – ideal for the finicky gardener. Even though my order came in four days later than expected, I got exactly what I ordered and it was worth the wait! Thank you SG! |
| Negative | ckclarke
Chatham
Canada
(1 review)
June 26, 2007 | I cannot recommend ordering from this company to anyone.
- I ordered in March, asked for early shipment as I live in an area of Canada where spring comes quite early
- I called and emailed several times to find out the status of my order when it was clear it was not coming early and might not be coming at all
- No one could give me the same answer twice. I was told it had been shipped already but the rep couldn't give me a tracking number; I was told they'd have to check with the nurseries; I was told they weren't sure
- they charged me twice for the same order
- they didn't ship until mid-JUNE
- half of my order simply wasn't included as it was supposed to be - no word of explanation
- some plants dead on arrival - and clearly should never have been shipped in the first place
- some plants small and sickly
- I have yet to receive any sort of acknowledgment of the problems
- the company seems to have been taken over by another company which also owns The Added Touch and Images of Canada. It's so badly muddled that queries sent to the Spring Garden Canada web site are being answered by random reps using Added Touch or Images of Canada email addresses
- as of today (June 26) their online store is offline |
| Negative | nicole77
fort erie
Canada
(1 review)
May 29, 2007 | Let's see so far I ordered a $200 order from Spring Garden and everytime I call for my shipment status they can't seem to tell me anything. My order is 3 weeks late and I called today and they lost my order. I ordered a whole perenial garden and they can't find it!! Here is is going into June and I already ordered all my top soil etc.. They told me if they can't locate my order they will ship me out another one , but then we are looking at another 7-10 days. My credit card has been billed for over a month now and still no garden has showed up. I had never recieved an order confirmation through e-mail or when I e-mail them on their site I still get no response. Beware of this company. |
| Positive | digbygarden
Digby
Canada
(1 review)
April 30, 2006 | Great company. I really like their Garden Collections. Have used three of their plans over the last few years.
Gardening in Nova Scotia,
SH |
| Negative | Ariesca
Lillooet, BC
(Zone 6b)
(2 reviews)
April 29, 2006 | Spring Garden in Canada has a nice catalogue. I ordered basically because the prices seemed quite low. However, when the plants arrived they were VERY TINY and it was worrying as I didn't see how they would make it through the winter even at zone 6a. Sure enough, 90% of my order did not come up this spring. Lavandula, for example, 3 out of 6 survived. Scabioa - zilch. Other failures too. Even their free Promotion Plant has not survived!
I have requested a refund but have had no response. View this company with extreme caution. |
| Positive | jennifernancy
Whitby
Canada
(1 review)
May 03, 2004 | I have just placed my first order and the company has responded to my emails promptly. I eagerly await my order and will post an update when my plants come (should be a few weeks at the latest according to customer service)
As for now, Spring Garden has been great!
On May 27th, 2004, jennifernancy added the following:
I received my order yesterday - everything was packaged nicely and looks great. Nothing was missing and everything was labeled and ready to put in the ground.
Thanks Spring Garden - I will definitely order again! |
| Neutral | springgarden
Toronto
Canada
(1 review)
February 02, 2004 | I have been a customer of Spring Garden for years. Never had any problems. I would say that over half my plants in my yard are from them. The odd one dies, but they are plants, not rocks. Can't wait for this cold winter to end and to get back out into my yard. Will from Toronto.
On February 2nd, 2004, springgarden added the following:
Oh, I should add that I have retired last year, but I am going to get a part-time job with them this Spring (2004). Probably all my pay will go for new plant purchases (but at least now I will get an employee discount). Ask for me if you want to talk about your garden. Will from Toronto.
On February 2nd, 2004, springgarden added the following:
Oh, one more thing I forgot to mention for those living in the Toronto GTA area. There is a great event called - Canada Blooms (if you type Canada Blooms on the internet it will bring them up). This year (2004) it is from March 3 to 7th at the Toronto Convention Centre. I go every year with my Gardening Club. Spring Garden is not there, but there are a lot of other great growers (nice plant displays) and gardening clubs at the event. Good way to break up a cold March. Happy Planting. Will.
On February 6th, 2004, springgarden changed the rating from positive to neutral and added the following:
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| Negative | Ajani
(1 review)
January 28, 2004 | A few years back we had the misfortune of placing an order with Spring Garden. We bought dwarf blue irises, irish moss, shasta daisies, a red hydrangea and some other plants. My mother in law bought some poker primroses and some cyclamen. Apart from the daisies, which are basically weeds that will thrive under nearly any condition, everything else was defective. There were no planting instructions with anything, either. The cyclamen and irises never did come up, the primroses were dissappointing and the hydrangea was completely without colour. Their flowers could only be described as 'beige.' Even the irish moss died! Everything was small and pitiful looking.
The money for our full order was refunded quickly, but just this week I received yet another catalogue from this company. I have asked now 3 times to be taken off of their mailing list, and they have yet to listen. |
| Positive | coolsmom
(1 review)
May 14, 2003 | I received my order and most of the plants were in very good condition but I did find that a couple of the plants were missing, so I called the customer service line and they said that they would send me out the missing ones. It took only 4 days for them to get to me. I am happy with the way I was treated by the customer service people and how quickly my missing plants got to me. Thank you Spring Garden Canada. I will order from you again. |
| Positive | Vic2001
(1 review)
May 09, 2003 | First time I have ever ordered plants by mail and I was a little tentative. I only ordered a few things but they just arrived and I am very impressed with the packaging and the condition of the plants. Overall good experience and I will definitely order again. - Vic |
| Positive | AH
(1 review)
April 30, 2003 | Just received my order and the plants look great. I too had troubles with this company a couple of years ago. But I received a letter last year (2002) saying that it was under new ownership - Canadians based out of Port Burwell (no longer Foster and Gallaher- sp?). The new owners have been great to deal with so far. Happy Planting to you all!!!
AH
PS: Hopefully "summer" will finally arrive to Southern Ontario! |
| Negative | Dawn_BC
(16 reviews)
April 02, 2003 | This has got to be the WORST mail order company ever!
NEWBIES to gardening Watch OUT! (I still recieve their catalogues even though they filed bankruptcy)
I recieved their catalogue about 4 yrs ago...everything looked so great! So being the newbie i was, I ordered one of their $100 complete gardens.
I recieved it in June & although they have great packaging...ALL the plants were very small in 2" pots. The soil smelt like rotten poop & most plants were slimy & gross.
I called to complain...they wouldn't offer a refund.
Please DO NOT order from this company.....THE WORST! |
| Negative | willyfp
(1 review)
February 24, 2003 | TWO YEARS AGO, I ORDERED EARLY IN THE YEAR AND DIDN'T RECIEVE IT UNTIL AFTER FATHERS DAY. MOST OF THE PLANTS WERE HALF AND SOME OF THEM WEREN'T EVEN WHAT I ORDERED. THEY DID REFUND MY MONEY. LAST YEAR I THOUGHT I WOULD TRY AGAIN. I WANTED TO BUY BULBS AND ASKED THEM WHEN THE EARLIEST THEY COULD SHIP THEM WAS AS I WANTED TO START THEM EARLY IN THE HOUSE. I WAS TOLD ONE WEEK. WEEKS WENT BY AND HEARD NOTHING. WHEN I CALLED THEM, THEY SAID THE ORDER WAS ON BACK-ORDER. I WILL NOT WASTE MY TIME AND MONEY WITH THEM AGAIN. |
| Neutral | Lestermagee
(1 review)
April 21, 2002 | I had also ordered bulbs from this company this year. They did not fail to cash my cheque, but did fail to send me any bulbs. I was unaware that they went out of business until I found this site, and a letter from another disgruntled customer. I guess it's true what they say "Caveat Emptor".
On April 23rd, 2002, Lestermagee changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
I stand Corrected! My shipment from Spring Garden arrived today,with reference books and everything. The only problem now is that the reference books don't have the two types of bulbs that I ordered in them so I don't know when they're supposed to flower. |
| Neutral | porter
(1 review)
April 11, 2002 | Over 3 months ago I sent this company a money order which has since been cashed. I recently went on-line to ask when I could expect my order and lo and behold they have been out of business for ages. Nice of them to still take peoples money!! I am currently in discussion with Industry Canada, the Postal Office and the bank. I have every intention to have either them and/or their parent companies and any management(and I hope some of you snake oil salesman from this company are reading this)charged with fraud, mail order fraud and any and all other charges the bank, government and the post office can charge them with!!!
On May 9th, 2002, porter changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
Surprise, surprise, I received my order today and at a glance everything seems to be there and in generally good health. I'm just hoping that the plants grow easeier and better then the pain it took me to lacate this company!!! Before I order any other plants thru the mail I will definitely check with "Dave" first!! Thanks Dave for a great site!!!!! |
| Positive | janhehn
(1 review)
January 01, 2002 | I have ordered many bushes, perennials, clematis, and bulbs from this company for the past three growing seasons. One season I got my order a little later than I would've liked, but they are usually pretty good for timing. I've found that their plants look scrawny upon arrival, but they always come to life if planted right away. Anything that has died or not come up has been replaced promptly or they give a credit voucher for the next order. No hassles or questions asked. I've always been able to get through to a 'live' person. Before they had the 800 number I called them collect and they always accepted. I will definitely order from them again. |
| Positive | bevbishop
(1 review)
July 01, 2001 | Last year I ordered two lots of strawberry plants and some primroses from Spring Gardens. Some of the strawberries were very slimy when they arrived and didn't do any more than rot in the ground. When I wrote to tell them about it, I promptly received a credit note for the FULL order, which I redeemed this year on three raspberry plants and three more primroses, which are all now flourishing in my garden alongside my furiously blossoming strawberries. I'll order again! |
| Positive | JEANETTEMILLER
(2 reviews)
May 01, 2001 | This is the second year I've ordered from Spring Garden. Plants have arrived in good condition, and my plants last year all bloomed well. One plant was missing from my shipment today, and when I called they advised they would send out a replacement immediately, no questions asked. Customer service was efficient and friendly. |
| Positive | echoffe
(1 review)
April 01, 2001 | I started ordering from Spring Garden in 1997 and ordered tons of stuff. Roses, irises, tulips, a rose hedge, butterfly bushes, just about every kind of perennial you can think of. The rose bushes were all about a foot high when they arrived and within 3 weeks of planting there were lots of buds. They even flowered all through winter. Everything I ordered in the first 2 years grew quickly and easily. The 3rd year, I had a problem with one item - a collection of hostas I ordered. I called them and the whole collection was replaced within a week. I will certainly buy from them again. |
| Positive | dladamson
(1 review)
August 01, 2000 | I order many things from Spring Garden and have been more then HAPPY with them, except 2 phloxes and I think they were my fault. It's the same with any other business; some people are happy and others aren't |
| Negative | NancyPyndus
(5 reviews)
May 01, 2000 | The mini rose collection I ordered from them was also a disappointment. They did send replacements for the dead ones. Unfortunately, the new ones turned out to be dying as well. I have one left this year from 10 plants ordered and you can hardly call it a rose bush at all it is so weak and poorly. It is growing next to a strong vigorous mini that I bought at my local hardware store for much less. I most definitely will not order from them again |
| Negative | joanne348
(1 review)
April 01, 2000 | I too have had a bad experience with Spring Garden. I ordered last year a mixed order of different perennials and blueberry plants to be sent at" the exact right planting time for your area" When everything else was planted in my garden and I still didn't have the order from them I called and was told it was coming soon a week later I called again and was told basically that they were busy and it would come when it came if I didn't like that I could just refuse the package when it came. Well that is what I did so I never saw the condition of the plants but the box looked real small for what I had ordered. I had to call again to get the charge removed from my credit card. Of course when I went to the local nursery in mid June to buy plants to replace those ordered there was practically nothing left. |
| Negative | waldo138
(1 review)
October 01, 1999 | I have a small gardening business and I order from approximately 20 mail order seed and plant supply companies. In all my years of gardening, over 25, I have never dealt with a company that I was so dissatisfied with. I went for the miniature rose collection 2 years ago and I will never order from them again.First off when I received my confirmation of my order, it had been doubled. The confirmation was for 2 collections. I looked for a phone number but there was none. I wrote to them and told them I only wanted 1 collection and at that time I sent them a cheque marked paid in full for 1 collection. That spring, I received 2 collections of miniature roses instead of 1. The poor roses were so sad, most were dead already and the rest were not far from dead. I was so disappointed, I had plans for using these in hanging baskets on contracts. I took pictures of the poor things and wrote to the company about my dissatisfaction. I received nothing from them except a bill telling me that I still owed them for 1 collection plus shipping and handling. It took until late fall after many letters until finally they expunged the outstanding debt. I never received a refund from them for the dead roses and out of 18 roses I did have 4 that survived though it was August before they looked decent at all. In my final letter to them I told them that they could keep sending me pretty pictures if they wanted to but I would never order from them again. They still send me the pretty pictures. These people are too dense to even take me off their mailing list. They don't deserve to be in business. |
| Positive | slimon
(1 review)
April 01, 1999 | I just received my order from SPRING GARDEN, and am very pleased. I ordered 200 Strawberry Plants, peonies, and clematis vines. I planted all and within 3 days, one of the peonies was up and the strawberries really started to come along, now has been 5 days and they are doing really well. There is still a lot of growing time ahead of me, but I am truly pleased so far with SPRING GARDEN. |
| Neutral | HeatherAHiebert
(3 reviews)
February 01, 1998 | I received a catalogue from Spring Garden, at the same town and postal code as Rockwood - the same slick ads, same offer of freebies with minimum orders. [Update] To anyone out there who has received a catalogue from Spring Garden, of Port Burwell, ON do not, I repeat DO NOT deal with these guys. According to The Vancouver branch of the BBB, Rockwood Gardens has had so many complaints registered from dissatisfied customers that they've folded up their act. But before you all heave a sigh of relief, they have regrouped under a new name: SPRING GARDEN. Don't get taken in just because they say no money down, and have a new toll-free number. |
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