| Rating | Author | Content |
| Positive | clpgirl
Chippewa Lake, OH
(11 reviews)
November 03, 2009 | Willow Creek is the BEST!! Due to an unexpected transfer of checking account, debit, etc. my payment was extended many days past the order date. They were wonderfully patient, stayed in excellent contact, very, very understanding!!
The best customer service I have ever had from a company.
Thanks WIllow Creek. I will be back again, and again....and again!!!! |
| Positive | rozrita
Douglasville, GA
(1 review)
October 31, 2009 | This was my first time ordering from Willow Creek Gardens, and I will definitely be a repeat customer. I ordered mostly rhizomes, and they were robust and healthy. They were shipped very quickly and were well packed. |
| Positive | mamajack
Fate, TX
(Zone 8a)
(12 reviews)
October 25, 2009 | Posted on November 24, 2006, updated October 25, 2009
i am going to write more when i get my order but kathleen at the gardens is super. they had a collection of watsonia and she worked with me for 2 wks as i bought and selected. she answered every email..............PROMPTLY!
On November 27th, 2006, mamajack added the following:
the other thing i would say is that they have a wonderful selection of bulbs for my southern garden.
On December 12th, 2006, mamajack added the following:
i got the bulb order today. tons of extras.............just tons. good sized bulbs. packed well. thank you jon and kathleen. it was a pleasure doing business with you both and i look forward to ordering again next year. and, did i say i got tons of extras?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On October 25th, 2009, mamajack added the following:
i hosted a co-op for amaryllis in which we bought almost 500 bulbs with 50 people involved. kathleen and jon went out of their way to help us. every problem that arose was dealt with immediately. most of the time problems were dealt with in the same hour as my email. the quality of the bulbs....all 500 was amazing. many of the ones i received still had white roots and others in the co-op report the same level of freshness. the other writer that said there needed to be more than 5 stars for some companies was correct. willow creek is one of the most customer friendly companies i have ever dealt with. na'cho 1 and na'cho 2 dg amaryllis co-ops salute willow creek. |
| Positive | stetchworth
Ocean Springs, MS
(Zone 8b)
(9 reviews)
October 22, 2009 | There should be a rating higher than positive for this company. I received bulbs from them in a coop and they were just huge beautiful bulbs and so well packed. After this I will order all of my bulbs from this company in the future. This is a five star company. |
| Positive | StellysPapa
Dothan, AL
(Zone 8a)
(26 reviews)
June 11, 2009 | This was a first time for any nursery I have ever done buisiness with.........I placed an order this morning, June 11,09 and get an email saying it has been shipped already...........in other words, I placed the order and have had it shipped in the same day. Now, I call that most excellent service.
I have bought from them earlier this year. Good communication between customer and customer service, plants arrived in a timely manner and in good condition.
I will buy from them again. |
| Positive | connieslemon
Mountain View, CA
(1 review)
May 27, 2009 | I have not yet ordered from this company, but I will shortly. I am very pleased with the customer service so far, however. I had questions about the size of the plastic pot that a plant would arrive in and whether it would need repotting upon arrival. I got the answers and more very promptly from Kathleen McCarthy. I look forward to dealing with Willow Creek Gardens again very soon! |
| Positive | mr_toad
Valdese, NC
(2 reviews)
April 24, 2009 | i ordered four tropicana lilies – arrived on schedule – very well packed and were large growing bulbs – all four bulbs had more than one eye – customer service was informative and very helpful
will order again |
| Positive | montsho
Elk Grove, CA
(Zone 9b)
(3 reviews)
April 23, 2009 | I ordered what should have been the same plant I ordered before from another company and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was actually a plant and not a seedling. It even looked like the online pictures. My plant was healthy and did not look like it was shipped at all. Highly recommend this company. |
| Positive | timbers
Vallejo, CA
(11 reviews)
April 23, 2009 | Received my order of border dahlias, freesias and rain lilies today. They were well packed and in excellent condition. I would definitely purchase from them again in the future. |
| Negative | TheGenerator
Snoqualmie, WA
(1 review)
April 20, 2009 | I've ordered bulbs from Willow Creek Farms once and Easy to Grow Bulbs (which I believe is the same company) once. Both times, I received bulbs that did not perform and both times I contacted customer service via e-mail and both times I received an 'aww too bad' response. There was never any offer to refund my money or send replacements. I've received plenty of bulbs through mail order from other companies and they have done just fine, so I know it's not my soil health or anything that I am doing wrong. I will NEVER buy from this company again.
Company representative comment on April 21, 2009:
On Apr 20, 2009 10:28 PM, Willow Creek Gardens responded with:We are sorry to hear of this customer's disappointment. After reviewing the orders in question, we find no customer communication regarding last spring's order from Easy to Grow Bulbs, but do have emails regarding the Willow Creek Gardens order. Per the customer, her region experienced a long winter this year and the bulbs dug up in April were squishy. Weather Service reports confirm extended cold, atypically large amounts of snow and a cold week long span in mid December when nightly temperatures were sometimes below 10 degrees.
Looking at order detail, some bulbs purchased are not hardy in the customer's region so were risky at best, while the others would be expected to survive average weather. (Growing zone information relies on National Weather Service historical averages.) Given the unusually cold, wet weather and the spring condition of the bulbs, it appears they suffered winter kill. This was explained by the customer service rep. We also checked to see if there had been other issues with the varieties in question and there have not, indicating an isolated incident.
Because weather extremes are beyond our control, we cannot guarantee products against weather related damage. This is noted on our website guarantee page. However, if this customer will contact us, we'll work to find a solution to the situation. |
| Positive | heavenscape
JayeVille, NC
(Zone 7a)
(2 reviews)
April 17, 2009 | Purchased some Gloriosa Lily tubers from them. VERY inexpensive and healthy tubers. Extremely fast shipping and wonderful support staff.
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| Positive | bwhiten
Grayson, GA
(2 reviews)
April 11, 2009 | Excellent packaging and low shipping costs. The plants arrived looking great and on time. Looking forward to ordering again! |
| Positive | nonigardens
Provo, UT
(1 review)
April 10, 2009 | I have ordered from Willow Creek Gardens for the last three years. The orders have been shipped quickly, the plants have been in terrific shape and the customer service has been impeccable. I will continue to use them as a source of plant material.
Coleen Toone
Morinda Gardens
Provo, Utah |
| Positive | julianchandler
Stillwater, OK
(3 reviews)
March 27, 2009 | I had been searching for Amazon lily bulbs (Eucharis grandiflora) for some time, and I finally found them on the Willow Creek Gardens website. The bulbs were not in stock at that time, so the listing instructed customers to contact Willow Creek for availability, which I did. I was advised by return email that they did not know for sure whether they would be able to get the bulbs, but that if they did, they would let me know. I figured that I would never hear any more about this, but several months later, lo and behold I received an email from Willow Creek telling me that they had the bulbs in stock! When I received the bulbs (10 of them) this week, nine were in excellent condition, but one of them was nothing but mush. I sent an email to Willow Creek explaining the situation and received a prompt and gracious reply apologizing for the problem and promising to send a replacement bulb immediately. What great customer service! I'll definitely be ordering from Willow Creek again. |
| Positive | MyZone8
Collins
United States
(6 reviews)
March 16, 2009 | Ordered several bulbs everything arrived in timely matter and in good condition. Will order again. |
| Positive | tajataja
Lake City, FL
(Zone 8a)
(3 reviews)
March 14, 2009 | I just received 6 hostas I just ordered. WOW! Beautiful plants, very large. They shipped when they said they would, e mailed me the shipping info. The packing was great and each one was in a bag ..perfect and ready to plant. I also ordered some roses, but they haven't arrived yet. Will order more from this source for sure!! |
| Positive | sarajute
Ware, MA
(Zone 5b)
(3 reviews)
March 05, 2009 | I ordered some hosta from them, and the root balls were giant!!!! I was very surprised. They send dormant bare roots, they were just eyes and roots, no stalks or leaves, but some of the roots measured from the tips of my fingers to my elbow!!!!!! Good Starts, and worth the $6.95........ |
| Positive | jimmy2
live oak, TX
(Zone 9a)
(14 reviews)
February 28, 2009 | i ordered early on preorder basis,the company gave me 10% off the heydichiums gingers were very lg healthy and send out express shipping very happy i ordered from them good service and nice exocited plants hard to find else where. |
| Positive | seagardener
Southport, ME
(20 reviews)
December 15, 2008 | We ordered about 150 begonia tubers in January of 2008. Begonias must be started in pots in a warm greenhouse in our area and we have over 20 years experience growing them. We had probably the highest attrition rate ever, perhaps in excess of 30% failed to break dormancy and the failed tubers were discovered to have brown interiors, blue or white mold inside. We quarantined all the failed pots to give the tubers a second chance at growth and be able to make an account of them to report to Willow Creek but unfortunately they were thrown out by greenhouse staff before we could do an exact final count. Fortunately we had ordered more than what was needed for our gardens and those that did grow, grew well and performed better than any year in our experience. So the ones that did survive did great but we had such a high failure rate, we are very reluctant to risk another order. In contrast, we ordered 50 'On Top Sunset Shades' from Brent and Becky's and had nearly 100% success with breaking dormancy and excellent garden performance which gave us additional reason to be suspect of the initial quality of the begonia tubers ordered from Willow Creek. I have no doubt that they would have stood behind their product were we able to give them an account of the failed tubers so I'm not questioning their business integrity; we just weren't satisfied with the product quality.
On December 31st, 2008, seagardener changed the rating from negative to positive and added the following:
Willow Creek Gardens makes an excellent point here. Their suggestion that freezing may have been an issue is plausible. We have in the past requested shipment of tender tubers and bulbs "on or about April 1st" and many of our suppliers are from the west coast and would have shipped around the same time. We have not lost any tubers or bulbs in 20 years but there is always a first time for everything. Failure to break dormancy is consistent with freeze damage. We phoned in our order and have deleted our e-mail confirmations so we are not able to confirm addressing errors on our end; the only record we have of the order is a notation that we submitted the order 1/17/08 and spoke to Kathleen. Based on their stellar record with other clients and their reasonable explanation, we are in a position to give them another chance with a future order. We have also received several positive e-mails from them so we feel that their personal attention merits a change in rating from "negative" to "positive".
Company representative comment on December 17, 2008:
On Dec 17, 2008 3:14 PM, Willow Creek Gardens added:After talking with our customer service staff and reviewing product feedback notes from the spring '08 season, there does not appear to have been an issue with the quality of our begonia bulbs. This conclusion is based on phone and emails from other customers, or in this case, the lack of them.
First, these bulbs were shipped in March at the customer's request. While this was earlier than we customarily recommend for that part of the country, we recognize that growers' timetables are often different than those of home gardeners.
A check of the shipping record for this order indicates that FedEx attempted delivery on Saturday 3/22 but the delivery address was incomplete or incorrect. (Our automated systems feed the data input by customers directly to shipping labels.) We contacted the customer, gathered the right address information and delivery was completed on Tuesday 3/25. However, according to national weather records, that week's Saturday, Sunday and Monday night temperatures in Southport, Maine were all well below freezing (one was 14 degrees). FedEx warehouses are typically unheated, so even with the insulated wrap we use during cold weather; it's likely that these bulbs suffered some frost damage while awaiting delivery. (As a general precaution, when the weather is extreme and deliveries are going to distant locations, we ship early in the week to avoid having packages sit over the weekend in unheated warehouses.)
We wish this customer had contacted us to advise us of the situation and to review options. And while in this instance, it appears there was nothing we could have done that was left undone, we'd still like an opportunity to demonstrate that our bulbs are the best around. Seagardener, please give us a call at 760-721-7079. |
| Positive | flowerfantasy
Washington, IN
(Zone 6a)
(10 reviews)
November 14, 2008 | Order was recieved very promptly and plants were in great shape.Can't wait to see what spring brings, when I can get these in the ground. Thanks for shipping quickly. |
| Positive | FL_Ginger
Saint Petersburg, FL
(Zone 9b)
(3 reviews)
November 05, 2008 | Website easy to navigate. Confirmation email upon ordering, plus another email to let me know my order was enroute. Super fast shipping and the order is well packed. My amaryllis and calla lily bulbs look FABULOUS! And I have never seen these varieties be so large and plump.
I am looking forward to planting them and watching them grow. Will definitely order from Willow Creek Gardens again. |
| Positive | BlissfulGarden
Baton Rouge, LA
(Zone 8b)
(50 reviews)
October 17, 2008 | If I was just basing this review on whether my plants thrived, then it would have to be a negative. However, it's not Willow Creek's fault that the particular cultivars of tuberous begonias that I ordered are apparently not happy in our heat... nor is it their fault that we went through two hurricanes this season. So, to be fair, I will rate them based on the tubers they provided. All nine of the tubers were in fine condition when I received them and were priced well. Willow Creek offers an outstanding selection and their ordering process is quite efficient and stress-free. Too bad my plants didn't turn out as well! Ev |
| Positive | miss_cue
Cedar City, UT
(2 reviews)
September 16, 2008 | Willow Creek Gardens totally impressed me last spring with the begonia tubers I ordered. Although I've been gardening for a long time, I've never realized the begonia tubers came as plump and big as these were. And although it's close to the end of the growing season here in Zone 5, the huge healthy plants are blooming on and on in their vivid and unusual color combinations. Considering the fact that Willow Creek sends very nicely packed lots of three tubers per order, I couldn't be more pleased--especially since the single nearly $30 tuber I ordered from a famous Northeast company never has bloomed. I'm expecting a shipment of iris and peonies from Willow Creek this week and I can hardly wait! |
| Positive | kmhappel
Vista, CA
(6 reviews)
August 01, 2008 | We ordered cannas ( tropicanna and tropicanna gold ) from them and they were in absolutely beautiful condition. The canna are now five feet tall and striking. They were also great help in finding others that they did not carry. |
| Positive | tookiebird
Gordon, WI
(1 review)
August 01, 2008 | In April of this year (2008) I happened to come across Willow Creek Gardens while searching for begonia and achimenes bulb. The pictures on their site were beautiful. I ordered the "Picotee Sunburst" begonias, and several varieties of achimenes. The "Picotee Sunburst", and Achimenes bulbs were packed very well. Very healthy bulbs. I planted them indoors right away and when the begonia's began to bloom I didn't think they were the right color and seemed to different than the description on site. I sent an email informing them that the bulbs must have been mis-labeled and that I was just letting them know for their info. I did not expect such positive attention, and was surprised to get an apology via email within hours saying replacements were on the way. 2 days later I received double the orig. order. Now, after returning from vacation I was shocked to see that the orig. plants had 2nd flush of the most beautiful begonia blooms I have ever seen. So I emailed Kathleen for an invoice so I could pay them,and apologized for the trouble. She emailed me and said " I'm happy for you, and Thank you for being our customer. Have a beautiful summer. I will be ordering from them again, happily. Tookiebird |
| Positive | ddflowers
Largo, FL
(1 review)
July 08, 2008 | This was my first use of Willow Creek Gardens.I could
not be more pleased!!! Kathleen is a treasure! I hope
they realize that.Easy to work with.My order was filled
& shipped promptly...Plan to use them again in the
future. Only POSITIVE rating coming from me.Thanks
W.C.!! |
| Positive | mrs_colla
Marin, CA
(Zone 9b)
(26 reviews)
May 30, 2008 | My bulbs got here in a timely manner, they were nice and moist, packed well and most of them are really big.
Will recommend this company.
One funny side note; if you order from their sister company you get free bulbs if you order for a certain amount.
Had I known that, I would have ordered from them. The website shows the same products and who doesn't like gifts? :-)
Christie |
| Positive | GreeneLady
Harlem, GA
(6 reviews)
May 19, 2008 | I ordered 3 Alstroemeria and they arrived in beautiful condition in a very timely matter. I had been looking for the purple color for a while and voila.....Willow Creek had it!
Shipping was prompt and the shipping confirmation email was very friendly. I'll definately order from these folks again. I have them saved to my favorites! |
| Positive | libraryman
Maryville, TN
(5 reviews)
May 13, 2008 | I ordered 8 "Sparkling Burgundy" heuchera from this company. Although Willow Creek is in California (and I in Tennessee) I still ordered because they had the best price and the variety that I wanted. When the plants arrived, they were absolutely beautiful! The burgundy leaves were brilliant and in great shape. Also, the customer service for this company is EXCELLENT. Before the huechera arrived, there was a slight mix-up with my order. Willow Creek fixed the problem immediately and to my satisfaction. It's hard to find this kind of quality service and product anymore. |
| Positive | CATSLARSON
Miami, FL
(Zone 10b)
(2 reviews)
May 01, 2008 | INSTANT GRATIFICATION! I ordered on Thursday, received Monday at 8:30 a.m., and had planted by 9:45 a.m.. HUGE Eucharis Grandiflora and Tuberose bulbs. Blazing communication in all respects by great people. Look forward to doing business again and again.
Cathleen Larson Buschman |
| Positive | Ammu
(5 reviews)
April 28, 2008 | I purchased freesia, ranunculus, rain lilies.Achimenes from Willowcreekgardens. Such wonderful customer service, my emails were prompt answered, Nicely packaged & shipped with bonus bulbs too!!. I will order again. I am very pleased with my order.
Thanks Jon. |
| Positive | girlndocs
Tacoma, WA
(7 reviews)
April 17, 2008 | I don't think I've ever received such large dahlia clumps before. The order was packed carefully and arrived quickly.
I like the good prices for packs of 3 (on large tubers like dahlias, and plants) and I like that shipping is calculated by the weight of my purchase -- what a novel concept, shipping that actually costs what it costs!
I wish they had a bigger dahlia selection.
On May 8th, 2008, girlndocs added the following:
I've made two more orders, and everything has been just great except for the cannas I ordered. The first pack came with one rhizome crumbly, soft and broken into 3 parts -- when I let them know about it, they shipped a replacement pack lightning fast and no questions asked.
However, the replacement pack still looks pretty sorry. I'm new to cannas so I had to do some research to make sure this wasn't how canna rhizomes are supposed to look -- all of them have soft spongy black sections, and only one out of 5 intact rhizomes actually has 3 living eyes. I contacted Willow Creek again to let them know I'd like a refund and haven't heard anything yet. It's only been a day. I'll update with the resolution.
On May 8th, 2008, girlndocs changed the rating from positive to neutral and added the following:
On May 9th, 2008, girlndocs added the following:
Kathleen contacted me by phone and by email to make sure the issue got resolved. She said she would refund me for the cannas if it was what I wanted but also offered to hand pick me another set of replacements, being sure they were healthy. So I took her up on that. I'm looking forward to seeing the new cannas and impressed with how attentive Kathleen was.
On May 15th, 2008, girlndocs changed the rating from neutral to positive and added the following:
The new cannas arrived and just hefting the box they felt different, so much heavier I wondered if there was something else in there with them. They are nice and firm. I'm happy with how the issue was resolved and I will buy from Willow Creek again. |
| Positive | Cheran
Taylorsville, NC
(2 reviews)
April 14, 2008 | I started ordering from Willow Creek Gardens last fall. My amaryllis bulbs, that I forced inside, produced awesome flowers in December. I have purchased other flower bulbs just recently, and their service and packaging is exceptional. Willow Creek Gardens is on top of my list for online purchasing! |
| Positive | ge1836
Pittsford, NY
(Zone 6a)
(18 reviews)
April 14, 2008 | Just recieved 20 handsome crocosmia bulbs.Well packed,clean and dry.
Will definatly do business with them again.DG hasn't let me down in my first year of ordering on-line. |
| Positive | gone2seed
Milton, FL
(Zone 8a)
(24 reviews)
March 29, 2008 | Ordered bulbs and they were delivered quickly.One bulb was damaged in shipment and one email had a replacement at my door within three days.Service just doesn't get any better than this.Thank you Willow Creek,I will be ordering again. |
| Positive | declfi
Fenton, MO
(Zone 6b)
(29 reviews)
March 20, 2008 | Fast shipping /nice products !!!! |
| Positive | kalinu
Westchester, IL
(1 review)
March 13, 2008 | before willow creek gardens say they haven't heard from me my order number is 5964..I have called, e-mail (which was answered once and never again) and still have not been advised on what to do about the peonys I planted in Oct of last year that has tryed to mush (the root that is) the e-mail I got back from them told me that was not good..ha don't I know it! They asked how many I ordered I replyed and nothing! So willow creek gardens I can't wait to hear you say you didn't know about this one!
On March 13th, 2008, kalinu added the following:
I wish I could delete this rating I feel soooo BAD now Kathleen called and I think we just kept missing each other,anyway she was wonderfully so nice and helpful,she even helped me pick flowers for my garden, I mean she took the time and talked if felt like we were old friends.. I give this company and BIG THUMBS UP!!!!
On March 13th, 2008, kalinu changed the rating from negative to positive and added the following:
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| Positive | sharielia
San Mateo, CA
(1 review)
March 12, 2008 | I recently ordered some carpet roses and several varieties of hostas from Willow Creek Gardens. They were at my door within 72 hours, beautifully packaged, and I was quite pleasantly surprised at the size of all the plants, particularly for bareroot. I emailed Willow Creek with a question about another order I wanted to place and received a reply within 24 hours. The quality of both the service and the products has been delightful. Thanks, Willow Creek!! |
| Positive | bjsalazar
Prescott Valley, AZ
(2 reviews)
March 08, 2008 | Received my bulbs and daylilies in good time and excellent condition. Looking forward to lots of pretties soon. |
| Positive | magic8balltx
Elgin, TX
(3 reviews)
March 02, 2008 | I have placed several orders this month, having been impressed with the speed of delivery, prices, and the condition of the items ordered on arrival. Although I haven't planted any of them yet, the dicentras and gingers I ordered have been large and well packaged. I'm waiting to receive some oxalis and geraniums and will report later on the growth after planting. |
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